Information, Education and Communication – sometimes called IEC - are a critical part of the puzzle for achieving the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. However, information, education and communications must be combined with other interventions to succeed.
Methods of communication range from one-to-one personal interactions to posters placed in school classrooms to prevention messages on national television. The focus may range from reducing stigma or decreasing HIV infection, but the ultimate goal is behaviour change.
Effective social mobilization involves an integrated communication strategy that includes a variety of communication actions such as sustained advertising, peer education, and community mobilization, all coherently focused so as to reinforce each other. The strategy is aimed at a defined group of people for an identified behavioural result.
Communication for behaviour change often involves reaching out to marginalized populations whose needs and behaviours are different from those of the rest of the community. Information must be provided in language familiar and appropriate to each group of people and in settings that are comfortable for them. Outreach and education by peers are two strategies that have been shown to be highly successful in overcoming the mistrust of individuals who are marginalized. For example, sex workers can be trained to provide HIV prevention education and to promote condom use among their peers.
