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Balbir Pasha Report - Sandeep Behera
Balbir Pasha Report - Sandeep Behera
India is the home to worlds third largest AIDS Population. Every day around 7000 people become infected by HIV. In November 2002 Population Services International (PSI) launched an aggressive and innovative campaign in Mumbai as part of a integrated behavioral change HIV prevention program known as Operation Lighthouse. It was being implemented in 12 major port communities across India with the support of United States Agency for International Development. The campaign was based on extensive consumer research and communicated the ill fates of HIV infection and also about the risk of unsafe sex among the poorest sectors of the Indian metropolis of Mumbai. The main concept behind the campaign was that people learn by seeing the behavioral changes in another person. The campaign actually aimed at bringing some behavioral changes to a persons daily activity. On the basis of above concept PSI along with its advertising agency Lowe created alter ego in the name of a fictional character Balbir Pasha. They produced a mixture of strategically made outdoor campaigns, radio and television messaging where the character Balbir Pasha was shown in different scenarios. These scenes were based on the activities of the people living in the poorest community of Mumbai. People in Mumbai could actually relate to the character and empathize with him. Or in the other sense we can say that Balbir Pasha served as a behavioral model for the people of Mumbai. The other thing which was good about the campaign was that the AIDS helpline, promotion of Voluntary campaign and onground interpersonal communications, which actually added to the strategically planned campaign.
Bringing about an attitudinal change by increasing the perception of HIV risk from unprotected sex with non-regular partners. These were very well communicated by showing real life scenarios to connect with the general mass By bringing a change in social norms wherein people can actually discuss about the risk of having HIV and the ill fates associated with it. By bringing a behavioral change where people were actually motivated to use the helpline services
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