5) Description of health product/service offering: This initiative addresses issues in behaviour change. It is a well known fact that behaviuor change is not an event, but a process. Whether we are programming to prevent HIV infection through condom use, mutual fidelity or abstinence; or reduce malaria fatalities through better environmental control to prevent mosquitoes from breeding or the use of insecticide impregnented bednets, the issue is still that individuals and families must change certain behavoiurs that put them at risk of these and other health problems. As such, one-off community/public awareness campaignes as not enough to take people from the level of ignorance to information, to knowledge, to behaviour change. This initiative is therefore designed as an interactive/participatory behaviour change communication tool, structured for sustained learning through entertainment education, with tools to measure for shifts in behaviour. The primary beneficiaries are in-school and out-of-school adolescents and young adults in urban and rural communities. We have introduced the use of entertainment education with the aid of audio-visual technology in an interactive/participatory and sustained approach which involves the target groups in planning and implementation. Because the initiative is taken to the target groups where they already are used to meeting, including village squares, market places, schools, churches and sports arenas, they are able to participate by watching a particular electronic media drama material over a period of time, during which they have opportunities to ask questions, get clarifications, products, other supportive BCC materials and referals. In all of the intervention sites so far, where the focus has been on HIV/AIDS infection prevention and management information. Participants' knowledge about prevention/management of HIV/AIDS increased, meaning less infections, less stigma, higher accessing of VCT services in urban and rural settings. Participants contitnue living productively.

6) Description of innovation: It differs from other existing programmes because it is interactive/participatory, and sustained over a period of time to encourage behaviour change. Other existing peer education programmes in Nigeria train peer educators, give them materials to distribute and expect them to inquisitive peers who would come to them for solutions to problems. Such trainedc peer educators soon develop into exclusive clubs complete with club meeting days and name (Anti AIDS Clubs), with little or nothing bringing them to interact with the peers they are supposed to educate. Even when periodic activities are planned, they are didactive and instructional, and are usually one-off events. It is doubtful whether an individual would abstain from unprotected sex just by listening to one lecture on abstinence. In contrast, the NARROWCASTING@T-A-L-Kcentres employs the use of entertainment education, implemented in a target environment through trained facilitators chosen by a target cohort, to play back an episode of an electronic drama serial/series on a particular day of the week, at the same one-hour time period of that same day weekly at the same venue. Participants view an episode of the electronic drama material with the aid of multi-media projector or television(depending on the size of the group) with portable power generator for thirty munites or less, then spend the remaining part of the hour interactively through question/answers/clarifications,products/materials distributions, products use demonstrations and referals. Data tools desined for that purpose are used to collect to data, to help measure behaviour change. This starts with an entry baseline, ends with an exit survey at end of a particular serial/series (minimum 15 episodes/weeks). The NARROWCAST component is I believe unique, so also is the sustained intaractive viewing. The use of multi-media tech is novel espercially in rural environments. Sets a pattern that makes it easier to measure & evaluate BCC intervention.

7) Operational model: We focus on HIV/AIDS infection prevention and management education and other adolescent reproductive health health issues. We have employed the use of multi-media concepts including outreach community drama events targetd especially at low-income and marginalized populations like street kids, migrant hawkers in junction/border towns. The NARROWCAST concept has actually made easier for us to reach them, with the collaboration of Lagos and Ogun State AIDS Control Agencies, Family Health International and Nigeria Breweries Plc., who have supported with equipment/materials and logistics. To this end, we have multi-media equipment, HIV/AIDS electronic drama materials, transportation and manpower to implement this concept especially among low- income and marginalized populations. We work directly, or collaboration with youth group in and around target areas, strengthening their capacity to function by training them to have information and knowledge about HIV/AIDS,substance use and abuse, and other adolescent reproductive health issues, so that they can be the ones facilitating interacvtive sessions with their peers. We support them with equipment and logistics. Where needed, fundraising ideas and activities to implement interventions are incoporated. For instance, where a TV is sufficient, we look for community members who can help provide such, including portable electric generators. Otherwise, the mobile outreach units work community by community with available equipment and other resources, with the target groups making no monetary contributions.

8) Human resources: The team in place is Youthaid Projects Inc., which is a social services not-for-profit unit of Growthaid Investments Ltd. Seven people work on this health initiative. (1) Richie Adewusi, has a background in Journalism,Public Relation, Media Materials Development and Production, Communication Art & Social Marketing, Development Communication. (2) Fola Richie-Adewusi, has a background in English Education, Family planning Programme Administration, Behaviour Change Communication, Community Mobilization, Adolescent Reproductive Health, (3) Akin Aduloju, has a background in Theartre Arts And Peer Education,(4) Morenike Oghonna, has a background in education Management and Outreach Work, (5) Innocent Adewusi, has a background in Electronic & Electrical Engineering, (6)Dupe olanrewaju, has a background in Bio- Chemistry and Peer Education Training (7) Yinka Olubunmi, has a background in Accounting and Business Administration.

9) Key operational partnerships: We have had partnerships with Family Health International, who funded the production of the HIV/AIDS electronic drama serial,Global Dialogue have also provided us with the electronic series on HIV/AIDS SCENARIOS FROM AFRICA; Lagos State AIDS Control Agency who through a world Bank IDA loan facility is funding the concept in ten sites in Lagos State- eight educational institutions (six tartiary, two secondary)and two community centres (a red-light beachfront on Victoria Island and a suburban youth meeting point in Ifako-Ijaiye LGA. Ogun State AIDS Control Agency is also funding two centres that are running through the three weeks of the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode Stadia. Nigeria Breweries Plc., is partnering with us to pilot the concept in the work place, through their workplace HIV/AIDS policy at their Lagos Brewery. The Ikoyi Lions Club in Lagos is also partnering with us to use this concept to implement an anti-drug use project at Kings College Lagos. These partnertships are crucial in the sense that our target groups cannot afford to pay for running the initiative. Our partners are in a position to help with scaling up the initiative. With their support, it becomes possible to reach groups that would otherwise not have benefitted. They also have their monitoring and evaluation protocols which helps in assessing the initiative. Without them,it would have been impossible to produce the drama serial/series, or buy equipment for initiative pilots.

10) Financial Sustainability

          • Fees charged to clients?: No

          • How do you assure affordability?: We build partnerships with government parastatals, donors and the organised private sector, includiong schools' administrations, to pay for the cost of running the initiative. For instance, the initiative was piolted in a secondary school (Wisdomgate High School, Ikeja-Lagos,) and a church, ( RCCG Livingstone Assembly, New Oko-Oba Lagos), where there administrators in both sites made financial contributions for running the programme for the young people to benefit. We have also stated the case of Ikoyi Lions Club and Kings college Lagos.

          • Earned incomes as a percentage of operating costs: 40%

          • Other funding sources: Presently, all the sites are partner funded. We however publish IEC/BCC materials in print/electronic formats, as well as run capacity building training programs for NGOs,CBOs and the organised private sector. From these sources, we generate about 40% of our operating cost. We have however done a survey to ascertain if participants in certain sites like private scecondary schools and churches can contribute money for equipment rentals. The result is an 89% yes. Equipment rentage for a session is about 25 cents (=N=3,500.00). We are targeting the PTAs and church administrators to make this contributions, and not the primary beneficiaries.

          • Strategy for long-term sustainability: For sustainability, we are targetting PTAs and private sector organisations, to adopt T-A-L-Kcentres in their areas of operation/interest. Since the concept makes use of electronic gargets like multimedia projector/screen, public address systems, and an electronic drama serial/series, we are targeting intra session advert placements. To do this, we are talking with organisations that produce relevant health products/services for the targeted audiences. Foremost among those we are in talks with is Society for Family Health/PSI Nigeria, who have are running a TV campaign on abstinence(ZIP UP CAMPAIGN). They are certain that the target audience for their ads would see the ads, in a manner that they can monitor/evaluate easier than they can for TV. This should sustain the project, its cheaper.

11) Current and Future Impact

          • Total number of clients: over 150,000

          • Clients in the past year: over 50,000

          • Percentage of low-income clients: 90%

          • Impact: In Nigeria, one major challege for combating HIV/AIDS is the fact that most people do not know their HIV status. So, apart from discussions on abstinence and consistent and proper condom use, participants at the T-A-L-Kcentres have seen why they need to go for HIV voluntary counselling and testing. There has been a change from an attitude of 'it's not my business', to 'please, where can I do the test and how much'. During the National Sport Festival that is currently holding in ogun state, the state government has had to set up two VCT centres at the two T-A-L-Kcentres, to respond to the request of those who wish to know their HIV status. Before this intervention, there was only one VCT centre in the state capital of Abeokuta.

          • Overall "market": Outside of the youth groups, private sector organisations with HIV/AIDS workplace policy are interested in this intervention. Some are awaiting the outcome of the Nigera Brewery Pilot, which is costing them about $4,000.00. There are about 6 such organisations including MTN Foundation. Four state governments, eleven Local government Councils, Fifteen Private Secondary schools, eight church in Nigeria are working at starting the intervention. These exclude seventeen on-going sites in four states. In Nigeria, the present market size of this initiative is about $250,000.00. Any cliet group, countries or regions looking for peer education/behaviour change communication concept/tool that really works especially for young people, can benefit from this initiative.

12) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: We are projecting at running the initiative in 25 educational institutions and community centres in all six geo-political zones of Nigeria, as well as helping any other countries that are interested in running the initiative, to do so, by sharing experiences, and technical inputs. To help us achieve our national target, we are working at procuring six multi-media out-fitted mobile units. One for each geo-political zone. We are also working at producing electronic drama materials for Democracy and Governance, Malaria, Immunisation, Water Management, Environmental Management, STDs, Tuberculosis PMTCT of HIV. These materials we believe would help us to fully have community NARROWCAST network that would help participants have better knowledge of development issues, and therefore exhibit desirable behaviour traits that make for sustainable development. If there are no electronic drama serials/series either audio or visual or both, this concept cannot be implemented. Our focus is actually in the rural areas, where information and knowledge about key developmental issyes are lacking because of inadequate reach of information and health infrastructure.

13) Policy change: It has become partinent for there to be a shift from provision of information about health and development issues, to the provision of interventions that bring aboutr knwledge about specific issues. Public infrastructure with the exception of telecommunication is grossly inadequate. In this regard, the rural population need to be put in focus. 95% of information about HIV/AIDS for instance, is concentrated in the urban areas, whereas the rural areas bear the brunt of relatives who would have come down with AIDS and are sent home to die, without those who are going to care for them being prepared as to what to do to protect themselves while caring, or what exactly they should do to care. Organisations working in the social sector should be made to for on the rural areas especially if theyu are to use public funds.

14) Origin of the initiative: This initiative actually started in 1990, with the founding of Youthaid Festival, that later became Youthaid Projects Inc., There was a need to get young people to turn their energy into creative pursuits, through Youtrhaid Festival, which was talent development and exhibition project. As the young people garthered, it became clear that we needed to look at drug use and adolescent reproductive health issues. This led to the formation of the Youthaid Lifeline club which ran programmes in educational institutions, community centre and as well as radio and Tv programmes(YOUTRHAID LIFELINE, 52 EPISODES ON TV, GENERATIONS.COM, 26 EPISODES ON TV, KEEP-OFF THE GRASS, 13 EPISODES ON RADIO, THREE DRAMAS MY NAME IS NOT EVERYBODY, LAST CANDLE & KEEP-OFF THE GRASS. It soon became obvious that we needed a sustanable peer education concept. Richie Adewusi has been driving the idea. He founded Youthaid

Contact Information:
Richie  Adewusi
Executive Director
Youthaid Projects Inc.
(NGO)
Youthaid Projects Inc.,, 15 Charity Road New Oko-Oba, P.O. Box 5785 Ikeja Lagos Nigeria
Nigeria
Tel: 234-1-4735422, 234-8060221979, 234-8023133383
Fax: N/A
Email: youthaid_ng@yahoo.com
Website: N/A