Media/Materials Clearinghouse (M/MC)

Health Communication Materials Database

M/MC ID# TD HON 35

English Title: [The ancestors never die : Listen to this radio soap opera on your favorite station] [T-shirt] [back]
Original Title: Los ancestros no mueren : Mouweti�u wayunagu : Escucha la radionovela en tu emisora favorita [back]
Series Title: | Los ancestros no mueren |
Media Format: Clothing
Date: 2004
Country: Honduras
Subjects: Radio Program, JHU/HCP, USAID
Audience: General
Languages: Spanish, Garifuna
Description: 56 x 44 cm. T-shirt. Front: HCP logo and name in English and Spanish. Back: color illustration of a community by the sea. Includes depictions of various animals and people engaged in various activities. Yellow, blue text, and orange text. logos.
Producers: USAID, Honduras Secretaria de Salud, Health Communication Partnership (HCP)
Contact: Health Communication Partnership (HCP)
111 Market Place, Suite 310
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
United States of America
Phone: 410-659-6300
Email: hcpinfo@jhuccp.org
Website: http://www.hcpartnership.org

Notes: "The Ancestors Never Die" is a 90-episode radio novella filled with dialogues in Garifuna and Spanish language and culturally appropriate stories contributing to build self efficacy especially among the Garifuna youth to battle HIV AIDS. It was launched on May 30, 2005 by the Garifuna IEC Committee as a continuation of their enter-education work. The Garifuna IEC Committee comprised of members of Honduras� Afro descendant population that has rarely been reached with public health information and the MSM IEC Committee launched their first communication strategy using entertainment education approaches to prevent HIV/AIDS. Both IEC Committees have implemented their communication strategies training over 170 volunteers in design and production of 14 theatre pieces with HIV AIDS prevention messages, carried out 37 presentations reaching over 3,400 members of the Garifuna and MSM population. less

Formative Research: Honduras has reported over 60% of Central America�s HIV cases, although it represents only 17% of the population (UNAIDS/PAHO/UNICEF/WHO, 2004). The prevalence of HIV in Honduras was 1.8% among those older than age 15 by the end of 2003 and much higher among the Garifuna population. The Gar�funa, a community of African migrants who live along the northern shore, have an estimated HIV prevalence of 8.2% in men and 8.5% in women (UNAIDS/PAHO/UNICEF/WHO, 2004). The Gar�funa are vulnerable to HIV transmission due to their isolation on the Atlantic coast, contributing to many youth leaving their communities to work (Stansbury & Sierra, 2004) and to poorer infrastructure and access to health information. Socioeconomic status and education are lower in this population, and the common practice of multiple partnerships transmits the disease more rapidly. Religious beliefs, such as the traditional practice of ancestor worship and the role of the Bullei, religious figures, may also impact preventive and treatment attitudes and behaviors (HCP unpublished formative research, November 2004). Due to this background, the Health Communication Partnership (HCP) and the Garifuna IEC Committee developed the first Garifuna radio drama �Los Ancestros no Mueren� with the aim to provide information about HIV/AIDS and model preventative attitudes and behaviors through the lives of the characters. On May 30th 2005, the first of ninety episodes of the radio drama was aired on local radio stations of cities situated close to Garifuna communities in the Departments of Atlantida, Cortes and Colon of Honduras. The radio drama was aired every week day until the 30th of September 2005. less

Formative Research Links:
Presentation on the formative research in Spanish
Presentation on the formative research in English

Summative Evaluation: To assess the reach of the radio drama and obtain preliminary information about the audiences� opinion of the radio drama, a random household rapid-assessment survey was conducted at the end of August 2005, of 329 Garifuna youth aged 14-26 from 7 Garifuna communities (Triunfo de la Cruz, Rio Esteban, Masca, Travesia, Cusuna, Limon and Sangrelaya) in 3 Departments (Atlantida, Cortes and Colon) of Honduras. The 7 communities were purposefully selected to include urban, semi-urban and rural communities and about 50 youth were interviewed per community. The results of the rapid-assessment of the Garifuna radio drama �Los Ancestros no Mueren� conducted only two months after the first episode was aired are promising. Sixty-one percent of the youth interviewed had heard the radio drama. In addition, the majority of the youth exposed (68%) spontaneously mentioned that the radio drama addressed HIV/AIDS. These results confirm that most of the youth are being reached and that it is clear that the radio drama emphasizes HIV/AIDS. The rapid assessment also identified areas for improvement. less

Summative Evaluation Links:
Rapid Assessment Results in Spanish
Rapid Assessment Results in English

	The Health Communication Partnership Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs in partnership with Academy for Educational Development • Save the Children • The International HIV/AIDS Alliance Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.