ABCNews.com Profiles loveLife Campaign’s Efforts to Reduce HIV Infections in South Africa
In September 1999, several organizations launched the loveLife campaign with a goal of reducing the infection rate of HIV in South Africa by 50% in five years, while also fighting other STDs, teen pregnancy and violence against women, ABCNews.com reports in a profile of the campaign. With UNAIDS statistics estimating that 20% of South Africans are infected with HIV and that 50% of South African teens may not live to the age of 30, the sex education and activism campaign tries to encourage a discussion among teens about "historically taboo subjects," by featuring a magazine, a Web site, billboards, field work at clinics, and a TV program series to "convince kids [that] communicating about sex is smart -- and cool." loveLife Media Director Judi Nwokedi explained that "the point is not to admonish kids for being sexually active, but to enlighten them. By acknowledging sex is healthy and normal and youth is a time of discovery and fun, the campaign teaches responsibility without preaching." A 1998 study commissioned by th
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