Africa Alive

Africa Alive! is a youth-serving organization started in 1998 with a vision to build and empower a healthier HIV/AIDS free generation of African youth. The mission of Africa Alive! is to promote positive behavior change among young people through advocacy, empowerment, partnership and resource/community mobilization, in order to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The initiatives developed and undertaken by Africa Alive! over the past years have adopted the strategic approach of creating a favorable environment for, and promoting broad based community discourse on healthy and high risk sexual behaviors. The organization’s mandate promotes the full participation of young people at every level of programme implementation. Africa Alive! uses audience and message strategy of edutainment (entertainment education).

This approach combines entertainment and education to attract the attention and provide a forum for delivering behaviour change messages. Africa Alive! reaches African youth by tapping into popular, creative channels of communication that appeal to youth in Africa and all over the world such as;
• Radio and TV drama that help educate and promote safe behaviours by depicting and discussing HIV/AIDS prevention and dealing with the decision-making process regarding sexual activity
• Puppetry- using puppetry and folk media as an entertainment and educational tool of reaching the youth with appropriate messages on their reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention, including community sensitization and mobilization on the uptake of other RH services such as STI screening, FP services and VCT.
• Traveling road shows (music performance and quiz) that reach both urban and rural areas, getting youth involved in talking about HIV/AIDS
• Radio and TV variety/talk shows with phone-ins, discussions, and mini-draws addressing HIV/AIDS
• Peer education outreach in schools
• Training and working with young music artiste and club DJs as youth advocates on RH/HIV/AIDS issues and
• Comics with HIV/AIDS prevention messages.
• Sporting events with prevention messages at break, on tickets, and at HIV/AIDS information booths in and around the venue.