HIP uses "edutainment" as its main strategy, entertaining and educating audiences throughout Tanzania in various media formats that mirror youth culture and language. It uses mass media and other forms of communication to facilitate open dialogue that will enable individuals and their communities to change their behavior.

HIP has different products that fill different gaps and contribute to communication about sexuality, HIV/AIDS and healthy lifestyles.

FEMINA magazine, the core of the HIP products, is a 60-page bi-lingual publication which is printed quarterly. Messages about sexuality, risk, HIV/AIDS and other lifestyle issues are integrated into a glossy, high-quality format. HIP supports the formation of FEMINA reader clubs and have published a users guide to facilitate the use of the magazine as a teaching and learning tool.

Magazines are distributed free of charge to secondary schools throughout Tanzania. NGOs also receive free copies for use in their community-based activities. Organisers hope that by 2004, the print run will reach 92,000 and all secondary schools in the country will be receiving free copies. Copies are also sold commercially, and corporates are encouraged to subscribe to the magazine as a tool for workplace HIV/AIDS programmes.

FEMINA TV Talk Show is a talk show for and by youth, reinforcing and complementing messages communicated in FEMINA magazine and other HIP products. The 30-minute show is broadcast every Thursday on Channel Ten, and repeated on Sundays on CTN.

Si Mchezo! ("No Joke" in Swahili) magazine targets rural, out-of-school youth in southern Tanzania. Its format, language and messages are tailored for a semi-literate audience, and editorial content and photography are developed in close collaboration with readers. 45,000 copies of Si Mchezo! are distributed free of charge each month. It is used by district government staff, NGOs, CBOs and large-scale employers.

Life Goes On! is a book of stories and photographs of 20 Tanzanians living with HIV. This is a profile of the positive community in Tanzania. The book aims to break the silence surrounding HIV/AIDS and reduce the stigmatisation of those infected and affected by the epidemic.

"Living Positively" and "AIDS in our Community" are produced by the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication in South Africa. HIP is translating and culturally adapting these booklets to the Tanzanian setting. The materials are simple and factual, and will be widely distributed through HIP distribution systems as well as through HIV testing centers, PLHWA service organisations and other stakeholders.

HIP Road Shows reinforce the project's media-based messages via interpersonal, face-to-face communication. Members of the HIP team including an HIV positive woman travel regularly to schools and communities all over Tanzania to meet with readers in their own communities.

A supporting website www.chezasalama.com that attempts to mirror the content and messages of other HIP products is a collaboration of three Tanzanian organisations - FEMINA HIP (EADCF), Afya Bomba (SPW) and GTZ (TGPSH).
, . Interactive and bilingual, the website will aim to serve as a resource for young people throughout the East African region.

Youth, HIV/AIDS

"The issues of sexuality and HIV/AIDS are still surrounded by silence and shame. Tanzanian society can still be said to be in the denial phase; most cases are not reported, statistics are inconsistent and people are reluctant to test their HIV status because of the stigma and shame associated with the disease."

"Young people, especially young women are very vulnerable in this scenario. They need to be reached with the information wherever they are. The aim of the HIP is to try to fill this gap by encouraging open talk and the creation of a more condusive environment for behavior change."