Advocating social marketing as ultimate weapon to fighting HIV/AIDS propagation, and related discrimination and stigmatisation

• Date: 01 August 2017
• Published date: 01 August 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1624

ACADEMIC PAPER

Advocating social marketing as ultimate weapon to fighting

HIV/AIDS propagation, and related discrimination and

stigmatisation

Lutete Christian Ayikwa |Johan W. de Jager

Marketing, Logistics and Sport Management,

Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria,

South Africa

Correspondence

Lutete Christian Ayikwa, Marketing, Logistics

and Sport Management, Tshwane University of

Technology, Straatsartillerie, Pretoria West,

0001, Pretoria, South Africa.

Email: chrisayikw@yahoo.fr

Abstract

The spreading of HIV/AIDS in the African continent and related discrimination and stigmatisation

towards people living with the virus have become a major issue to be addressed by communities,

health organisations and governments in Africa. An effective way to successfully overcome these

plagues necessitates the application of social marketing techniques and campaigns. However,

when it comes to funding and supporting social marketing activities, African leaders deny the

important role that the government could play in achieving the ‘HIV/AIDS free generation goal’

as well as making African societies a non‐discriminative and stigmatisation places for infected

people. The present study intend to demonstrate through analysis of empirical data that social

marketing is crucial in changing people's sexual behaviour and battling misconceptions that lead

to discrimination and stigmatisation of infected people. In this light, African political authorities

such as Congolese leaders need to understand the relevancy of this discipline in their HIV/AIDS

policy.

KEYWORDS

discrimination and stigmatisation, HIV/AIDS knowledge and information, sexual behaviour and

Kinshasa, social marketing

1|INTRODUCTION

African countries such as Uganda and Senegal are cited as models

or exceptions in terms of their fight against the epidemic, because

they have successfully implemented an HIV/AIDS management pol-

icy with strong government leadership, broad‐based partnerships

and effective public education campaigns that have involved social

marketing (Botha, 2004:98). In response to this health issue, the

Democratic Republic of Congo has, since 1990, established

National AIDS Control Programme agencies, in order to plan, coor-

dinate, monitor and evaluate HIV/AIDS/sexually transmitted infec-

tion (STI) activities (IFC, 2003:2). It is worth noting that the

essential efforts made in this regard are the result of funding from

partners such as GTZ, USAID, UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA (Faulk

& Usunier, 2009); hence, it becomes imperative to demonstrate

the importance of HIV/AIDS social marketing to Congolese political

authorities through an empirical study in order to incite them to

engage more.

2|BACKGROUND

Although steady prevalence rates in Africa in 2008 suggested that the

virus might be stabilising, new infections are still matched by the num-

ber of deaths, which means that the epidemic remains highly active

(Khobotlo et al., March 2009). HIV/AIDS still tends to be regarded as

an ‘African problem’. Sexual practices of African people are identified

as the main reason for the spread of HIV/AIDS as researches found

heterosexual intercourse to be the predominant mode of HIV trans-

mission in Africa (F&C, & UBS, May, 2005:9–17). There is a strong

point that the way forward to change the main trends or commonly

held beliefs in society may lie in ‘social marketing’.

It is acknowledged worldwide that social marketing is an effective

tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and its campaign programmes are

crucial in slowing the spread of the disease and preventing new infec-

tions (Lombardo & Leger, 2007). Those campaigns ought to create

awareness, raise knowledge on the scope of the epidemic and change

people's behaviour, attitudes and perceptions (Bunnell, Mermin, & De

Received: 18 July 2016 Accepted: 11 August 2016

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1624

J Public Affairs. 2017;17:e1624. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of6

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1624