Khomanani
Also: Khomanani: Caring Together
South African government HIV/AIDS communication campaign (Tsonga for 'caring together') run for the National Department of Health from late 2001, with TV and radio adverts in 11 languages, pamphlets and community mobilisation with people living with HIV.
- Years
- 2001
- Reach
- 400K reached as reported“Khomanani claimed 400,000+ people reached by social mobilisation and 14 million pamphlets (self-reported).”
- Country
- South Africa
- Budget
- R92 million for the first two-year campaign (Health-e, 2003); more than R300 million over five years (Health-e, 2006-2007)
- Topic
- HIV/STI
- Asks people to
- Reduce stigmaSeek helpStart
- Strategy
- Multi level community
- Channel
- EventsPrintRadioTV
- Audience
- General public
Evidence
ProcessUnknown
Peltzer et al. (2012), national survey of 13,234 people aged 15-55: 54.4% had seen a Khomanani TV advert and 42.5% heard a radio advert in the past 12 months. The paper reports only pooled exposure across 18 programmes (9+ programmes vs 0-3: condom use at last sex AOR 1.28, HIV test in past year AOR 1.45, less stigma AOR 0.41), not Khomanani's own effect. The department said in 2006 that surveys showed older people were reached less well than the young. Khomanani claimed 400,000+ people reached by social mobilisation and 14 million pamphlets (self-reported).
Sponsor (who paid)
- National Department of Health (South Africa) Foreign government, funder and final control
Credits (who made it)
- Johnnic Communications (AIDS Communication Team consortium) Strategy, 2001-2006 source
- Meropa Communications PR, 2001-2006 source
- Hunt Lascaris (TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris) Creative, 2007- source
Related campaigns
- loveLife 1999–now
- Brothers for Life 2009–now
Sources
- Govt. runs out in prime time (Health-e News, 2003) news · 2003
- Confusion reigns over Khomanani? Living with AIDS #273 (Health-e News, 2006) news · 2006
- Hunt Lascaris gets government AIDS tender (Health-e News, 9 May 2007) news · 2007
- Peltzer K et al. Impact of national HIV and AIDS communication campaigns in South Africa to reduce HIV risk behaviour. ScientificWorldJournal 2012:384608 evaluation · 2012 · DOI 10.1100/2012/384608 · PMID 23213285
Research notes
Credits fetched from Health-e News pages 2026-10-22. 2001-2006: run day to day by the AIDS Communication Team, a nine-member consortium led by Johnnic Communications, with Meropa Communications (training DJs, daily work), PricewaterhouseCoopers on finances and Soul City's Sue Goldstein as an adviser; role 'strategy' for Johnnic is approximate (it managed the whole campaign). 2007: tender (mid-2006 to mid-2009) awarded to Hunt Lascaris; whether it ran its full term, and what it produced, is not confirmed. Health-e (2003) criticised the weak, unmemorable branding compared with loveLife. endYear left out: no source found for when the brand stopped. Target behaviours and strategy are inferred from the stated focus 'prevention, treatment, care and support'; no individual ads were found.
Record cases/khomanani.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign