[HIV communication paradigms must be changed in Africa]. / Changer de paradigmes de communication sur le VIH en Afrique.

We conducted a socio-anthropological study in Ivory Coast to determine recommendations for a communication strategy aimed at increasing HIV testing, especially among young men. The study results showed that the existence of HIV testing is widely known as are the reasons for getting tested. Fear of death and of stigmatization is the main obstacle to testing. Men are more likely than women to be reluctant to undergo HIV testing, and the fear of dying of AIDS is especially strong among young people. Perceptions of HIV treatments are contradictory: while most of those interviewed know about HIV treatments and say that treatment makes it possible to maintain good health, HIV infection is still frequently associated with death. We recommend reinitiating the mass communication campaign around HIV that was abandoned in order to focus on targeted programs, in order to change perceptions of HIV infection and encourage people who are sexually active to get tested, especially those practicing risky behaviors. We also recommend developing communication messages targeting young men.

[A socio-anthropological survey to support communication on Covid-19 in West Africa]. / Une enquête socio-anthropologique à l'appui de la communication sur le Covid-19 En Afrique de l'Ouest.

The population's adherence to preventive measures is crucial for the success of the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, whether it is a question of respecting barrier gestures or vaccination. We conducted a socio-anthropological survey in five countries of the Economic Community of West African States (Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, and Sierra Leone) on the representations of Covid-19 that may influence this adherence. Our results showed that raising the awareness of barrier gestures was extremely well-received by the population and is perfectly understood, but that a substantial part of the population denies the presence of Covid-19 in their country, that the transmission of SARS-CoV2 by asymptomatic persons is mostly ignored, that the risk factors of severe forms of the disease are insufficiently known and that a majority of the respondents fear contracting Covid-19 when visiting a health center. The "infodemia" circulating on social networks does not seem to contribute to the various misconceptions we have highlighted, which are the product of the interviewees' observations and interpretation. We propose a reorientation of communication about Covid-19 based on the results of our survey.

[Ivory-Coast: Textbooks Misinform on HIV]. / Côte d'Ivoire : la désinformation des manuels scolaires sur l'infection à VIH.

Schools are considered as one of the most effective vectors for education on sexually transmitted diseases among young people. We report here the results of a study of HIV infection as presented in school textbooks in Ivory Coast, conducted in June 2018 as part of the development of a communication strategy to increase demand for HIV infection testing, especially among young people. Surprisingly, even though the textbooks studied were published between 2007 and 2017, almost all of them stated that HIV infection leads to death, with no mention of the existence of treatments that make it possible to live in good health. Some textbooks even stated that no treatment is available. These findings highlight one cause - perhaps major - for the reluctance of young people to get tested. The misrepresentation of HIV infection, reinforced by education, hampers incentive campaigns for HIV testing, for which the best argument is that awareness of a positive HIV status makes it possible to benefit from treatment. The present study included textbooks from the French educational program, used throughout French-speaking Africa, and from the Ivory Coast program. It would be interesting to conduct a similar study in other French-speaking and English-speaking African countries. Adapting the presentation of HIV in school textbooks to reflect the current situation in the fight against HIV infection should be a priority.

L'éducation scolaire est connue comme l'un des vecteurs les plus efficaces d'éducation sur les maladies sexuellement transmissibles chez les jeunes. Nous rapportons ici les résultats d'une étude de la présentation de l'infection à VIH dans les manuels scolaires en Côte d'Ivoire. De façon surprenante, bien qu'ils aient été imprimés entre 2007 et 2017, ces manuels affirment dans leur quasi-totalité que le VIH conduit à la mort, sans mentionner l'existence de traitements qui permettent de vivre en bonne santé, voire pour certains en affirmant qu'il n'existe pas de traitement. Ceci met en lumière une cause, peut-être majeure, de la réticence des jeunes à se faire dépister. La représentation erronée de l'infection à VIH renforcée par l'enseignement entrave les campagnes d'incitation au passage du test de dépistage, le meilleur argument pour celui-ci étant que connaître son statut positif permet de bénéficier des traitements. Certains des livres étudiés sont utilisés dans toute l'Afrique francophone. Il serait intéressant de mener une étude similaire dans d'autres pays d'Afrique francophone et anglophone. Vérifier le contenu scientifique et adapter le discours des manuels scolaires sur le VIH à la situation actuelle de la lutte contre l'infection devraient être une urgence.

[The wanderings of the communication on the Ebola virus disease]. / Les errances de la communication sur la maladie à virus Ebola.

For two reasons, communication is one of the major tools in the fight against any Ebola epidemics. Firstly, because Ebola is one of the most easily preventable of all infectious diseases and the thorough application of health-protection measures by the community of the sick persons is the best tool to fight any Ebola epidemic. Secondly, because during the two dozens of known Ebola epidemics health care workers have often met with people's skepticism, or even hostility. However, our review of Ebola communication, as defined by WHO since 2013, shows that it has been marked by a series of errors, as well from a strategic perspective as in its concrete deployment. The same communication messages and tools have been used in non-epidemic and epidemic countries. A general ban on hunting has been promoted, while only 2% of sub-Saharan Africans live in areas inhabited by the bats that are the reservoir of the Ebola virus and while it is not proven that hunting is a major risk of infection. Erroneous or inappropriate messages have contributed to doubts and created anxiety. To be effective, Ebola communication should be based on education about the disease, meaning explanation of its cause, its transmission and its prevention.