The objectives of the campaign are:

• to create an enabling environment for social change, in which individual behaviour change is a positive choice;
• to kickstart key debates about issues like culture and gender that South Africans need to have if the HIV/AIDS epidemic is to be turned around; and
• to empower communities to take positive organised action to prevent HIV/AIDS.

The mass media component of the South African Onelove campaign comprises of a prime time Soul City television drama series, a Soul City radio drama series in 9 languages, community radio station talk shows, and outreach events.

The Soul City 9 television series is a central part of the Onelove campaign in South Africa. It is a 13-episode weekly drama series which began broadcasting on SABC1, the South African public broadcaster, in January 2009. The series follows the lives of Zimele and Lebo, who appear to be the perfect married couple. However, audiences learn that there is more going on and that the relationship is strained: Zimele is involved in a web of secrets and lies, involving inter-generational and transactional sex. The story introduces the viewer to a number of characters as the web of lies unfolds, revealing much pain and HIV. The series is being rerun in the second half of 2009.

The campaign produced a booklet, "Onelove: Preventing HIV in South Africa", which explains why having many partners puts people at risk and talks about other risky behaviours. It also includes information for people who want to do something in their communities to contribute to social change, especially as part of the Onelove campaign. Click here to download this booklet in PDF format. Over one million copies of the booklet in four languages have been distributed.

The Onelove campaign also includes a media advocacy strategy which largely focuses on raising public debate on the key factors that drive MCP, such as culture. As part of this initiative, the campaign developed a Media Handbook called "Multiple and concurrent sexual partners: What’s culture got to do with it? A Handbook for Journalists" as well as discussion documents on culture and MCP. Click here to download the media handbook. The campaign is also generating opinion articles on key themes for use by the media, and is encouraging radio and television debates on MCP. To support this process, the campaign is distributing Media Toolkits which consist of the Onelove booklets, posters, and a t-shirt and a bracelet. As of November 2009, over 800 toolkits have been distributed.

The Onelove campaign ran 30-minute talkshows on both community radio and national radio stations. The talk shows included expert guests, phone-ins from the public as well as competitions. A radio drama was launched in June 2009 and was broadcast across nine SABC African language radio stations over the following two months. The radio drama of 30 episodes was designed to encourage people to talk about key issues that drive multiple sexual relationships and to challenge some of these drivers, for example notions of masculinity that encourage multiple sexual partners.

Onelove in South Africa also seeks to encourage communities to discuss issues surrounding multiple and concurrent partnerships. These include issues such as culture, religion, and gender. Together with partners, the Onelove campaign is holding workshops and community dialogue events across South Africa. These are targeting youth in school, out-of-school youth, students, visitors to shebeens, traditional leaders, and miners.

The campaign is also using two existing Soul City magazines, the ClubZone magazine and the Soul Xpression magazine, to include articles and messages related to Onelove and MCP, polygamy, and relationships in general.

In July 2009, a Onelove single and music video, produced by Native Rhythms, was released by Soul City. The song features some of South Africa’s top musical talent: Zuluboy, Danny K, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Siphokazi, Bucie, Zonke, and Fikile Mlomo, who won Soul City’s Search for a Star in 2005. The OneLove song emphasises the need to talk, protect and respect, in line with the campaign message.

Television and radio advertisements and public service announcements (PSAs) are also being broadcast on national radio and television stations and on community radio stations.

HIV/AIDS

In South Africa there are close to 6 million people living with HIV/AIDS. In 2007 there were 2 million HIV related deaths in South Africa.