FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 26, 2006

Ethiopia launches an entertaining and exciting Comic Book to save soldiers’ lives

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The Black Tigers, a new comic book series designed to reduce the risk of HIV infection among Ethiopia’s military was launched on December 25, 2006 in Addis Ababa. The comic series will be distributed to service men and women throughout the Ethiopian Defense Forces and used during peer to peer discussion groups to generate dialogue around HIV issues such as prevention, treatment, stigma and discrimination.

Tikuakur Nebroch or The Black Tigers follows the lives of five characters - Captain Damtew Ashenafi; Sergeant Teshome Worku and his wife Tirunesh Mekonen; Corporal Fikru Ayele; and Private Jemal Hussein - as they struggle to cope with the pressures of relationships, military service, and the threat of HIV infection. Combining humor, action and gripping drama, the 26 edition comic book will enable uniformed servicemen and women to better understand the risks they face from HIV and adopt behaviors that will keep them safer.

The comic book is a product of a partnership between the National Defense Forces of Ethiopia (NDFE) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Ethiopia with technical assistance from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP), its AIDS Resource Center (ARC), and CDC. It is funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The comic book uses the Modeling and Reinforcement to Combat HIV/AIDS (MARCH) model for HIV prevention. MARCH promotes behaviors that reduce the risk of HIV infection by using role models to demonstrate positive behavior change through serial dramas and using entertainment education. The project also includes reinforcement activities to create an environment in which these positive behaviors are discussed and assimilated in a peer group setting and sustained via community support.

“The MARCH Project using the PSDs (Print Serial Dramas or Comic Books) is an innovative way of conveying the ABC (abstinence, be faithful, use condoms) HIV preventive messages to bring about behavior change among soldiers and their families as well as increasing counseling and testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and antiretroviral treatment service uptakes through entertainment education and peer-to-peer learning,” said Dr. Tadesse Wuhib, Country Director of CDC-Ethiopia.

After reading the comic books, servicemen and women will take part in their respective peer discussion groups to reflect on similarities between their lives and the characters and to further explore the issues raised. 2,893 groups have been established to date.

“Our pre-test result shows that the comic book has received wide acceptance from the military community,” says Sofnias Nega, CCP Program Officer.  “We are confident that The Black Tigers will be a huge success in barracks up and down the country, and lead to a reduction in cases of HIV amongst soldiers.”

The comic book specifically targets uniformed servicemen who are particularly at risk for HIV infection. Many spend weeks away from home and are used to being in risky situations which often makes them take risks that they might not otherwise.  Major Fisseha Berhe of the National Defense Forces claims that the new MARCH project will help address these behaviors. “We know we have a problem on our hands, but with this new approach we believe we can effectively protect both our servicemen and their families.”

With continued assistance from CDC and CCP, similar comic books will be developed for the Federal Police Commission and students at Addis Ababa University.

For more information, contact:

Notes for Editors

Since opening in 2001, the AIDS Resource Center has been providing an extensive range of information services on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB). The ARC serves as a hub for a host of resources and services, such as a comprehensive multimedia library collection, high-speed Internet access for HIV/AIDS research, an HIV/AIDS website with searchable databases, and a materials clearinghouse. The center also runs the Wegen 952 national HIV/AIDS hotline and produces high-quality and culturally appropriate behavior change communication (BCC) materials on various health topics.

PEPFAR is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease -- a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world.  The PEPFAR program is working with 15 focus countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.  Ethiopia is one of the 15 focus countries to receive support from PEPFAR

PEPFAR is a five-year, $15-billion U.S. government initiative to combat the global HIV/AIDS pandemic with the goals of treating two million HIV-infected people, preventing seven million new infections, and care for 10 million HIV-infected individuals and AIDS orphans. A significant amount of these resources focus on 15 of the most afflicted countries in the world, including Ethiopia. Since 2001 CDC-Ethiopia is supporting the Ethiopian government to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS, STI and TB and mitigate their impact through prevention, care, support, treatment and capacity building activities.

With representatives in more than 30 countries, Hopkins’ CCP partners with organizations worldwide to design and implement strategic communication programs that influence political dialogue, collective action, and individual behavior change; enhance access to information and the exchange of knowledge to improve health and health care; and conduct research to guide program design, evaluate impact, and advance knowledge and practice in health communication.

© 2005 The Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.
Security and Privacy Policy, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202, webmaster@jhuccp.org

Photos courtesy of Photoshare, a service of The INFO Project.