Community Mobilization and HIV/AIDS Prevention among Youth in West Africa: The Guinea Case Study

Fannie Fonseca-Becker, Johns Hopkins University
Winifride Mwebesa, Johns Hopkins University

The Guinean Government in coordination with international organizations supports reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention programs such as the Youth Campaign of the ‘Project to Strengthen Reproductive Health, STIs and AIDS Interventions’ (PRISM) in Haute Guinea. The campaign employed a multimedia approach including mass media, community mobilization, and peer educators. A post-quasi-experimental study was designed to assess campaign impact. Cross-sectional data were collected from a representative household sample of 1008 young men and women (16-24 years old). The campaign was effective in improving preventive behavior such as condom use at last sex which was significantly higher (p<0.01) for intervention than controls (47.6% vs. 24.1% for men) and (27.0% vs. 2.7% for women) respectively. Among those exposed to the campaign, 48% males and 51% females, reported deciding to abstain as a result. Intervention communities were also reported to be more open to discussing youth sexuality than one year prior to the survey.