Our response

MTV Shuga is an award-winning television series designed to address critical social issues affecting young people in Africa. With support from Unitaid, MTV Shuga worked to increase awareness of HIV self-testing and preventive treatments, combat stigma, and empower young people to know their HIV status and prevent infection through several series of programming. The program worked alongside other Unitaid initiatives led by Population Services International, Solthis and Wits RHI to increase availability of HIV self-testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Unitaid granted additional funding to support the dissemination of critical information to ensure people understood risks and mitigation measures.

An evaluation, conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Epicentre Health Research in South Africa, showed a strong and consistent link with HIV prevention behaviors: young people who engaged with the MTV Shuga series were twice as likely to know about HIV self-testing and PrEP, use an HIV self-test, and know their HIV status, compared to those who hadn’t watched the show.