Researchers Call for Multi-Level Programs, GRS Listens

In a recent article published in The Lancet, leading researchers called for “multi-level” behavior change strategies that utilize “a mix of communication channels to disseminate messages to motivate people.”

Grassroot Soccer is translating this research into action. In 2009, GRS and Avusa Education are teaming up to distribute Extra Time teacher training DVDs and guide books to teachers from over 2,000 South African schools, produce soccer themed multimedia content targeting young people with HIV prevention messages, and circulate more than 3 million quarterly copies of Extra Time magazine as inserts in South Africa’s most popular newspapers. With over 5.54 million infected, South Africa has the world’s largest HIV epidemic.
“Combination prevention is essential since HIV prevention is neither simple nor simplistic,” write the authors. “Nothing should be more important than a major focus on young people.”