India: Anti-HIV Messages: Too Frank for Comfort

In the northern India city of Lucknow, an aggressive anti-HIV campaign by the government is receiving mixed reactions from the public. Launched April 1 as an STD awareness campaign, the program includes HIV/AIDS billboards, leaflets and radio spots.

While no one doubts the importance of public education regarding HIV/AIDS, the avalanche of explicit verbal and written messages flooding the city is beginning to make conservatives and some parents squirm with embarrassment.

"The government must know how much is too much," said Suneeta Mishra, a house-maker. "Every city bus has the messages with words and picture," she says. Driving her children back from school has become an occasion of embarrassment as "the older one who can read would insist upon reading the messages aloud, while the younger one would inquire about the pictures."

Nidhi Tiwari, another young mother, had similar complaints but added, "What makes it worse is that the message will be missed by the target populace. How many construction laborers or rickshaw-pullers do you think can read? Moreover, the kind of words are used would make the comprehension difficult even for the semi-literate segment," she argued. Others complain about radio announcements that they promptly switch off.

Dr. R.K. Ratan, program officer for the campaign, concedes that he has been receiving complaints from a number of people. The messages, he admits, can be too frank for comfort at times. "The choice is between guarding the sensibility or saving lives, and there is just no other option," he says.

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