July 29, 2006
Anti-Aids SMS Campaign suggests cellphones are the culprits
In one of the biggest demonstrations seen in Swaziland in years, HIV-positive people marched on the offices of the prime minister and the national AIDS council this week to protest an "insulting" new text messaging campaign, reports AllAfrica.
"The project by the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS seems to suggest that HIV is caused by sexual infidelity. It was launched last month without consulting people living with the virus.
"The campaign further stigmatises the HIV infected. It is an insult, we are angry. It is time we are involved in matters pertaining to us," said protest leader Vusi Matsebula, chairperson of the Swaziland National Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. Around 1,000 people participated in the demonstration.
The media campaign, called "Makhwapheni", SiSwati slang for illicit lovers, has sent out tens of thousands of cellphone text messages mimicking secret lovers arranging a sexual rendezvous.
he marketing company behind the initiative was quoted in the local press as saying its critics failed to understand the campaign's creative rationale, and said cellphones were the primary means of communication for couples having affairs."
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