1. INTRODUCTION

CASE I:
USAID (US Agency for International Development) had implemented the ABC programme to prevent or reduce sexual transmission of the AIDS virus in the developing countries [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13501-2004Jun28.html, http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/News/abcfactsheet.html]. ‘A’ stood for ‘Abstinence’ (or delayed sexual initiation among youth), ‘B’ for ‘Being faithful’ (or reduction in number of sexual partners), and ‘C’ for correct and consistent ‘Condom use’ for casual sexual activity and other high-risk situations. But the project was not successful in the developing countries of Asia, such as India [Report of Ministry of Health, Government of India, 2004].

In fact, in such countries women tend to have less control over their sexual lives, and sexual exploitation of women often go unreported. Under such circumstances, firstly, if a woman exercises abstinence, she would be raped by her husband, would be abandoned by him or he would go outside the wedlock to satisfy his needs. So, how does ‘A’ work for her? Secondly, how do messages on monogamy help to protect themselves? She might be faithful to her husband, but what if he contracts HIV viruses through unsafe sex outside the wedlock and passes it on to her? So, how does ‘B’ work for her? Thirdly, if her husband refuses to use protection, what can she possibly do? Do we have a feminine equivalent of condom that is readily available and affordable in the market? So, how does ‘C’ work for her?

CASE II:
As per official statistics, a large percentage of HIV/AIDS patients in India acquire the virus through unprotected sex. So, the IISD (Institute of International Social Development), with support from West Bengal AIDS Control Society, had launched a programme to offer sex-workers in Calcutta, India, an ancient solution to modern concerns about safe sex. They were taught from the Kama Sutra to ensure maximum client satisfaction without consummation, thus preventing the contraction of HIV/AIDS. Thereafter, a powerful association, called Durbar Mahila Samannoy Samity, was formed with the decree that all its members should perform safe sex and customers refusing will not be entertained [http://ethnodata.com/content.php?id=14, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3133947.stm].
The response to the workshop was remarkable and it ended up being the first sex-workers’ forum in the world. Since then, thousands of Calcutta's sex-workers have successfully applied the message conveyed at these workshops into practice.

In both the case studies, there is an attempt to control the spread of HIV/AIDS through sexual transmission. While the project failed in the first instance, it was successful in the second. The reason lies in the correct choice of communications strategy — in the former the strategy was too general for the receiving population, whereas in the latter it was modified to suit the requirements of the target group.

This dissertation aims to find out the objectives, strategies and outcomes of communication for development; thus establishing its efficacy in the development sector. The research questions that will be addressed through the work comprise:
• What are the reasons for the success and failure of communication for development?
• How can it be made more effective?
• What is the influence of the cultural context?
• How can media campaign be used to realize the objective of development communication?

The entire research has been divided into two sections: the theoretical and the empirical. In the theoretical section, existing literature on this field of study has been reviewed as per a few specific dimensions. These include: the origin of the concept of development communication; how to define it; the three basic strategies of development communication, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Thereafter, there is a section on media versus face-to-face communication to adjudge the best strategy. This is followed by a critical discussion of the research questions.

In the empirical section, The Cardiff Group (TCG) has been chosen as the case study — a newly-launched organization dealing with design and development. After tracing the origins of the Group, the interview respondents’ — comprising both the founder-members of TCG as well as professionals from the development sector — opinion on the best communications strategy has been analyzed. They were also asked whether they would identify particular strategies with particular projects. Following this, the research questions have been re-analysed in keeping with the respondents’ replies. It concludes with the recommendation of an effective communication policy for The Cardiff Group.

The research methods used for this study include critical evaluation of existing literature and semi-structured interview. Thus, both primary and secondary data have been used.