Title: Theatre Campaign: Raising Community Awareness on Sexual and Reproductive Health & HIV/AIDS

Clip info: Language: English; Length: 12m 3s

Author: India HIV/AIDS Alliance

Publication Date: March 2007

Target Audience: Donors, national and international NGOs, NGO support programmes, training organisations, individual trainers

Description: Interventions in the area of HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) have tremendous potential for improving the quality of lives of women in India realising important public health benefits for them, their partners and their families.

Pursuing a new community-based approach, the India HIV/AIDS Alliance and its partners conducted theatre campaigns to build mass awareness on SRH and HIV/AIDS in Amritsar (Punjab State) and Bhubaneswar (Orissa State).

The street plays and “talking-doll” shows were successful in connecting with communities, especially those having limited access to such information. The shows discussed issues around women’s vulnerability and imparted information on SRH, HIV/AIDS and related services. Community participation and sustainability of the theatre medium were ensured by training local people to perform as part of the theatre groups while NGO staff capacity was built on the use of theatre techniques. A post-campaign survey was conducted to understand the outreach and to measure change in terms of overall awareness levels. This documentary film captures the entire process and will be a useful resource for civil society organisations, community-based organisations and individuals working on or interested in the issues of SRH and HIV/AIDS integration at the community level.

For information about how to get a copy of this documentary film, please contact: India HIV/AIDS Alliance info@allianceindia.org