FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2006

Y.E.A.H. Launches “Be a Man” Campaign in Uganda during World Cup

KAMPALA, Uganda —The Young Empowered and Healthy (Y.E.A.H.) initiative launched a health improvement campaign aimed at young men in Uganda during this month’s World Cup television broadcasts on Uganda Broadcasting Corp. (UBC).   The “Be a Man” campaign engages young men to reflect on the costs to themselves and Ugandan society of “traditional” male attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate power imbalances in their relationships with women.

The “Be a Man” campaign is the result of recent research that shows traditional male attitudes and behaviors are contributing to an increase in HIV infections.   According to the 2004 Behavioural Surveillance Survey conducted by the country’s Ministry of Health, most new infections occur among married couples and HIV infection rates are highest among unmarried women and married men.  

The 2004 survey also shows that married men are almost eight times more likely to have extramarital relationships than married women and married women are more likely to go for HIV testing than their husbands. Other studies have shown that as many as 40% of men physically abuse their wives and that many men and women accept this behavior as normal.

“Traditionally, most of our communication efforts have focused on protecting women.  It is time that we began helping men to protect themselves.  Young men are in a difficult position these days.  They are expected to support their families, yet there are few employment opportunities.  At the same time, they are expected to prove their manhood through sexual prowess and the ability to father children.  Society’s expectations of men are setting them up for failure,” according to Vincent Kiwanuka, the “Be a Man” campaign’s coordinator.

“Men feel constrained by the expectations society puts on them.   These days, a man will be much more likely to succeed if he stays faithful to his wife, has a smaller family, and shares financial and decision-making responsibilities with his wife.  Yet, these are not considered “manly” attributes,” said James Kigozi of the Uganda AIDS Commission.

The “Be a Man” campaign is linked to Y.E.A.H.’s effort to prevent “something for something love”, which is the practice of exchanging sex for gifts or favors. 

According to Y.E.A.H. Director Anne Gamurorwa, “something for something love” usually involves men who are exploiting young women, and is based on unequal power relationships between men and women.  The practice has negative consequences for both men and women.  Since “Be a Man” focuses on helping young men adopt more positive attitudes and behaviors to protect their own health, it is hoped that it will also help to stamp out the practice of “something for something love.”   

“Be a Man” will communicate with men and women through a variety of media.   Television spots broadcast during the World Cup will be followed by radio ads, training sessions and discussion groups with men, newspaper articles, radio programs, and messages on the popular radio drama series “Rock Point 256”.

Y.E.A.H. is a communication initiative of the Uganda AIDS Commission.  It is managed by a partnership of Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU) and Straight Talk Foundation and other youth-serving and reproductive health organizations in Uganda. “Be a Man” is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and receives technical guidance from the Health Communication Partnership (HCP).

HCP is a global communication initiative based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs (CCP) in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, Save the Children, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. In addition to the five core partners, HCP works with leading Southern-based health communication organizations as well as global programming partners from the corporate sector, international media, academic institutions, and faith-based organizations. For more information, visit the HCP web site.

View the Be A Man World Cup TV spots: Spot 1 | Spot 2

View the PowerPoint Presentation "Impact of Rockpoint on Gender Norms"

For more information, please contact:

Vincent Kiwanuka, Campaign Coordinator
Y.E.A.H. Implementation Unit
Plot 58 Kiira Road
Phone:  0312 263941/2

Or

Irene Kulabako, Communication Advisor
Health Communication Partnership
Plot 42 Lumumba Avenue
Phone:  041 250183/237222