Add HIV and AIDS into the curriculum where appropriate.

Me s s a g e
t r i a n g l e
Advocacy messages are most effective if they contain
no more than three points. These points should
address the what, why and how of your message.
We can visualise them as a ‘message triangle.’
Action Statement: What action do you want to
take to mainstream HIV and AIDS in the education
sector? The action statement should be specifi c
and focused and deal with just one action at a
time. Use a separate triangle for each issue.
Action Strategy: Why are you suggesting this action
be taken? List the compelling reasons in a way
that the audience can easily understand.
Call to Action: How can your audience solve the
problem you outlined? What steps do you want
your audience to take to address it? Provide very
focused and realistic steps.
Write concise yet specifi c answers for each of these
questions as they relate to the advocacy issue you
are taking forward.Below are two examples of messages that were
created using the message triangle to address
mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS in the education
sector.
SCENARIO 1:
Mainstreaming in a low HIV prevalence
setting
Because the HIV prevalence is low, the perceived
need to mainstream HIV and AIDS in the education
sector and to allocate resources to them may be
harder to see than in a high prevalence setting. As a
result, the proposed action reorganises and adds to
what already exists rather than creating a new project
or programme.
Action Statement (What?)
We need to integrate HIV & AIDS in the framework
of a life skills perspective into the existing school
curriculum for all age groups.
Action Strategy (Why?)
All children and young people need to learn basic
information about HIV & AIDS and skills on how to
protect themselves and prevent HIV infection.
For those who attend school, this is the best place
to reach them with this information.
Integrating this topic into a related part of the existing
curriculum is the most cost-effective approach
to reach students in school.
Call to Action (How?)
Examine the existing SRH and life skills curriculum
for all age groups to see if and where it addresses
HIV and AIDS.
Add HIV and AIDS into the curriculum where
appropriate.
Make sure incentives are put in place so that these
parts of the curriculum will be taught (e.g. through
making the content compulsory; by including the
content in the assessment of educators’ performance;
or by holding the education system accountable
against certain indicators).