Giving Compass' Take:

· According to a study conducted by the World Bank, MTV's show 'Shuga' is having a positive affect on its viewers, with fans twice as likely to get tested for HIV.

· How does media and pop culture influence society? How can shows like this be used to raise awareness about other real-life issues? 

· Learn how research into HIV and AIDS has progressed. 

Though it was the movie that made her blow up, Lupita Nyong’o didn’t actually get her start with 2013’s gut-wrenching hit 12 Years a Slave. Four years earlier, she’d taken the starring role in an MTV series you may not have heard of if you live in the U.S. It’s called MTV Shuga, and its 10th season—MTV Shuga Naija, set in Nigeria—will debut on November 1, 2019, in nearly 180 countries.

Telling real and raw stories of young people in places like Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, the MTV series sprung up from MTV’s Staying Alive brand. Originally set up to produce narratives that would encourage healthy practices among young viewers, Staying Alive came out with documentaries about HIV in the 1990s, when the spread of the disease was rampant. Staying Alive went from a brand on MTV to its own nonprofit operating out of the U.S. and U.K., and its content evolved from documentaries to scripted drama series.

“If we can tell stories that come from the mouth of young people about their lives, then we can create a media movement,” says Georgia Arnold of the realization that led to the creation of MTV Shuga. Arnold is the senior vice president of social responsibility at Viacom International and the executive director of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation. “The idea was to create content that helps [young people] make both positive decisions about their own health and also creates demand for access to services.”

Read the full article about MTV's Shuga and the fight against HIV by Jessica Klein at Fast Company.