The AFFORD project positions a ‘good life’ as desirable, attainable and a basic human right. To help realize this vision, AFFORD created “The Good Life” campaign to market the practices, products and services that provide wellness for Ugandans. The campaign is just one of the many interventions AFFORD uses to reach out to people living with HIV, mothers, children under five and couples of reproductive age.

A mother in Ihandiro, Uganda hadn’t delivered any of her children in a hospital. She saw no reason why this birth should be any different. But a popular opinion leader (POL) in her village taught this mother that going to the hospital for delivery would be safer for both her and her baby. The mother finally agreed. When the birth became complicated, health workers at the hospital told the woman she was lucky she was there. In a home delivery, her life may have been in danger. Instead, mother and child are healthy and thriving.

Stories like these are not uncommon in areas where the AFFORD project works. AFFORD works with local partners to identify, train and supervise village POLs to bring about positive change in health behaviors and practices. POLs address HIV issues, malaria prevention, family planning, child survival issues and more, relying on their training to impart knowledge on these issues to their peers in the surrounding community.

Training POLs is just one aspect of AFFORD’s five-year health marketing initiative. Led by CCP with support from Futures Group International, and funded by USAID, the project integrates health communication and social marketing techniques to encourage private sector participation in health issues, increase access to and affordability of products and services such as counseling and testing for HIV, malaria drugs, long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, multivitamins with zinc and condoms and to produce sustainable positive behavior change.

One of the ways AFFORD and its partners created bridges between the project’s strategies was to establish a common marketing platform, “The Good Life.” The campaign covers practices, products and services that cut across audience segments and aims not only to market products, but to stimulate dialogue and change attitudes around social issues that influence wellness, including family size norms, HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination and male involvement in family health. The crux of the campaign is The Good Life Gameshow, a televised entertainment education quiz show that is the first of its kind in Uganda. Different health topics are covered each week to illustrate how simple health practices and lifestyle choices can protect family health and contribute to socio-economic stability.

Demand creation for AFFORD products is achieved through coordinated and creative promotions such as experiential marketing in clinics, women’s and men’s clubs and village meetings. Road shows, information tents, films and videos also support the campaign and its products.

AFFORD also has a presence on Ugandan radio. Recognizing that live broadcasts are optimal for creating dialogue on health issues, AFFORD combined two proven communication strategies, community mobilization and interactive radio programming. The result was a reality radio show called “Under the Mango Tree.” To produce the show, community members gather in an outdoor public site. With the help of a moderator and health professional, the community discusses issues around one of AFFORD’s supported topics. The live sessions are recorded and edited into 30 minute radio segments. Listeners provide feedback by calling a toll free hotline with questions and comments about the show, and frequently asked questions are selected and answered in 45 second radio spots.

Twenty-six episodes of the unique show were produced in five languages and broadcast on 11 stations nationwide. More than 1,000 Ugandans were involved in the live discussions that reached 5.7 million listeners.

The AFFORD project continues to use these and other innovative strategies to reach out to its intended audiences, integrating communication around products, services and partnerships to expand health markets, change behavior and empower people to protect and improve their health.