#4 Shifting Power, Sharing Stories: on HIV, Digital Strategy & Empowerment with Sarah Hand
What happens when we put people’s stories at the heart of change? In this episode, I speak with Sarah Hand – midwife turned international health and development leader, and former CEO of Avert – about how storytelling, co-creation, and compassionate leadership can break down stigma, shift health behaviours, and create lasting impact.
Sarah shares how personal stories can spark behaviour change and build empathy in ways data alone can’t, why co-creating with communities creates more meaningful and sustainable solutions, and what she learned from making the bold move to transition Avert’s core programmes to African-led organisations.
If you’ve ever wondered how to use storytelling to drive social change or lead with more heart and bravery, this conversation will inspire you.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why personal stories are the missing piece in behaviour change communications
How co-creation with communities leads to more impactful, culturally relevant campaigns
What compassionate leadership looks like in action – and why it matters
The ongoing challenges of HIV stigma and misinformation, and how stories can help shift the dial
Read the episode transcript
Sarah:
Hi, and welcome to Uncover Your Story, the podcast for creatives, change makers and bighearted rebels who believe in the power of stories to inspire, connect, and make a difference. I'm your host, Sarah Oughton, brand photographer, storyteller, and content creator. I'll be drawing on my 20 years of experience working in communications to guide you through the storytelling process from the mindset shift to the practical steps we can take to increase the impact of our work.
I'm so excited to be here with you.
Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to Sarah Hand, whose career is a testament to the power of compassionate leadership, collaboration, and the power of storytelling to drive change. Sarah began her career as a midwife supporting mothers with HIV during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
Her deep commitment to improving care and outcomes for those impacted by the HIV epidemic led her to transition into the nonprofit sector where she has worked tirelessly to design and lead impactful HIV programs.
For the past 10 years, Sarah has served as the CEO of avert, a global leader in HIV information and behavior change communications.
Under her leadership, avert has not only expanded its reach and impact. But has also undergone a remarkable transformation. Sarah made the bold decision in 2023 to transition T'S core brand to African LED organizations, ensuring that their legacy would thrive where she's most needed. Thanks to her vision and dedication, this has been a resounding success.
With the transition of T'S brands be in the Know and boost at the end of 2024 to organizations in Kenya and Zimbabwe where they are now taking forward T'S mission in health literacy and equitable care. Sarah's leadership style is one of empowerment and collaboration, bringing out the best in teams and fostering partnerships rooted in mutual respect and shared purpose.
I may be a little biased as I know this because I spent two years working part-time with Sarah at Avert as a content editor and project manager. Whether she's inspiring her team to co-create innovative digital tools or tackle stigma through storytelling, she's demonstrated the profound impact of working together to create lasting change.
I'm so excited to dive into her wealth of experience and insights today.
Sarah Hand:
Thank you, Sarah. What a lovely, warm introduction. And yes, indeed, we're part of that amazing team that I had the privilege to nurture and coach. So thank you. It's great to join you today.
Sarah:
Oh, thank you. Right. We're going to crack on with our quick-fire round.
Creative change maker or big-hearted rebel, which do you most resonate with?
Sarah Hand:
Oh, thanks, Sarah. That does make me laugh. So, I would say I'm big -hearted, but I'm not necessarily a rebel. But, yeah, you know, and creative. Creative and big -hearted, so I'm going to own the words and not own the complete label of being a rebel, but yeah.
Sarah:
See, I think that, I think that makes you a rebel. You are, you are refusing to, to choose the label.
What words do you choose to live by?
Sarah Hand:
Empathy and resilience, they're two, you know, they're, you know, they're, they're kind of, values and characteristics that I think have certainly helped me, navigate my life and my choices and resilience in particular is a skill set. Some people have to learn it and some people have it.
But I, I really feel that you can't underestimate the importance of having that resilience and I've seen it. In my work, what we'll talk about later, I'm sure, in terms of what, what motivates me to continue to support people living in such difficult circumstances. But when you see resilience to overcome challenges.
Sarah:
If your life was a book, what would the title be?
Sarah Hand:
Smile and journey. I think being able to project a level of, outward Support, joy, um, again, just listening and having empathy I think can come so much from our facial expressions. I've been told that I smile a lot, and yeah, I feel the benefits of smiling in me and I feel it from others.
Um, and then journeying, being able to, travel, not, you know, necessarily travelling, but being able to just journey in the things that we do, and again, in my own life, I have had that opportunity and privilege, and I've gone about it with a smile on my face.
Sarah:
I love that. You definitely do. And yeah, I really relate to that. What song gets you on the dance floor?
Sarah Hand:
I am a girl of the 90s, obviously, you know, I had my youth, on you know, dance floors and you in London in the 90s, but I felt like, yeah, more recently now in my 50s, I find that what gets me, you know, cycling faster at the gym, more jumping harder is Moves Like Jagger, yeah, because I always, he had some pretty cool moves, so I love the Maroon 5, Moves Like Jagger, yeah.
Sarah:
A daily ritual or habit you can't live without?
Sarah Hand:
A quiet morning cup of tea. I wake up every morning, in, you know, I do live in a family household, but I carve just my own little time to just enjoy, um, sitting and having a quiet cup of tea, and I wake up slowly. My cat usually comes and joins me.
Sarah:
That sounds lovely. Having two young little ones, I don't always manage that in the early morning.
Sarah Hand:
No. It will come as they get older.
Sarah:
Right. Okay. So we're going to dive in now to the, the deeper, bigger questions. So Avert has a long history of using storytelling such as personal testimonies in booklets and digital platforms, like be in the know, how do personal stories enhance the effectiveness of behavior change communications?
Sarah Hand:
Thanks, Sarah. So, I think, you know, that behaviour change communication work is all about, you know, finding that trigger, finding that point that helps build that motivation for change. And it does take multiple levels of intervention from policy change to, to pricing, to product placement, to health worker competency. But personal stories play a huge part in that, that kind of motivational part. If we do see that behavior changes, this, you know, sort of building blocks there, there are. Hypnotic elements. But I think the personal stories give that relatability. They give what can often be, and I've seen this myself, the missing part, whether it's, when I used to work more clinically front facing in the HIV response, understand, you know, what, what will make the difference in treatment adherence here.
Often having that opportunity to hear, so back in the olden days we didn't have digital and it would have been that people were together with other people that they could listen to the personal story of change. I think it brings about, an opportunity for people to relate more closely, and if the personal story isn't seen as a, I'm telling you what to do narrative, so that's about supporting that personal story, then it's, it's a very powerful part of, of the overall package that makes up behavior change interventions.
Sarah:
And many of Avert’s campaigns seem to harness emotion to foster empathy and understanding. So can you share an example of how storytelling helps reduce stigma or increases health literacy among a specific demographic?
Sarah Hand:
I mean, I think that, what we at Avert were able to benefit from greatly was the willingness of the audience that we engaged with to share they had got from listening or engaging, watching, reading the content we gave them. So we could see from the huge wealth of very emotional comments that would come back on our content. While they are again, snapshots, their building blocks. So, you know, where we had carefully considered and crafted how we were going to reach people, definitely taking the time to come back and say to us, know, your information has changed how I feel about myself. So when I would see those comments coming back, and those are comments that people have chosen to share, but I think, you know, we've seen countless examples of people who've responded positively to campaigns that we've done.
And ranging from this has helped me in a small thumbs up. So just a reaction all the way through to saying, you know, I didn't know this before. you know, hearing from people have access to other forms of information saying I didn't know this. This has helped me.
This has changed how I feel about myself, or changed how I will now respond to my son, my daughter, my brother, who, you know, who's also living with HIV. It's, it's hugely powerful.
And then with health literacy, I think definitely again, our objective was always to, recognise that of course, you know, health literacy builds agency. So by one's ability to act and feel in control of the decisions they take, or, and again to use a jargon term, but to build self -efficacy. So self -efficacy is when we understand what health information means to us and our own particular situation. So in HIV, what I used to often see was people didn't realise that they were at risk by the behaviours that they were taking because they thought the risk to HIV lay with somebody else. But if as we did, help build, Self -efficacy, we were building people's understanding to interpret their own behaviours against their own ability, risk. And people would respond again by saying, I understand.
Sarah:
Yeah. Brilliant. Thank you. And so I also wanted to ask you about how, you know Avert has worked across different regions with diverse cultures, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. How do you ensure that stories used in campaigns are culturally sensitive and resonate with local audiences?
Sarah Hand:
We basically used a network of existing partners who often worked in peer outreach programs and, you know, with due care and attention and respect to local culture, et cetera, so was about bringing that voice and then, you know, if it was necessary to help them then recognize how that they would communicate that to their community, to the people that they knew best. again blended carefully with the need to get across the accurate evidence -based information. because that was our duty of care in the process. Their duty of care was to make sure that they were able to share what was relevant for others to hear. And our duty of care was to make sure then that it wasn't being accurate.
We never told the story for them.
Sarah:
Yeah, and it's something that I learned so much about during my time at the, obviously as you know, my background was in storytelling for nonprofits. I've worked for other HIV organizations and the British Red Cross. And, I used to interview people a lot and. Help, you know, support them to tell their story that way.
At Avert, I really learned much more about the whole process of co-creation, which is very much the core of how you work, isn't it. And, so I'd love, yeah, I'd love for you to share a bit more about how you built co-creation into the process of working at Avert and why it's important to include the target audience in, in crafting the stories and, and the difference it makes.
Sarah Hand:
We really got our teeth stuck into the co -creation process through a project that I was immensely proud of and hugely excited by, which was Young Voices. So this was, this also captured a time when we were really starting to understand, the power of digital and the fact that there was a growing access to digital communication in low and middle income countries to a degree that lots of people were underestimating.
There was still lots of assumption that young teenagers living in, you know, very rural parts of very low-income countries. So across East and Southern Africa didn't have access to phones, but they did. They did, often in shared households, but they did.
Co -creation is very much, yeah, it is, it's the creation of both parts.We brought with us our evidence base, our understanding of how to communicate the technicalities and the correct parts of, of what was going on and, in our case, this was about HIV prevention, with HIV, addressing the stigma that sits around HIV, looking at the fact that HIV sits within a sexual and reproductive health environment.
And then the populations, the people, the individuals whose experiences we wanted to capture so that it could be amplified and shared with others was the, co -creation part.
So, we really, got our teeth stuck into this eight years ago in the Young Voices project, which interestingly started with gathering, a large group of what we would have called our target audience. These were, you know, young kids from across the East and Southern African countries. And we got them to bring the hard copy material that they're used to looking at that gets distributed in the clinics that the health workers are throwing out at them. And so when we got the young people to review these materials, were able to take, well, what, what is good about this, but what do you really want to talk about? And, and just, well, what, what do you really, really want to talk about? What do you want to see? and what can we do differently then in the digital space? And that, that was a big thing for me. It was phenomenally impactful and innovative project that then really helped build that foundation of confidence for Avert as could do co -creation, with integrity give a voice to, people, um, by the issue that we were addressing, that, that space, and for us to learn from them, and then to learn from us. So a real, a real joint opportunity. It's an evolving process, it, it will evolve because the people you're co -creating with, are evolving their understanding of how they equally the power of digital communication.
Sarah:
And for, those who perhaps aren't at all familiar with this process and how it all works, I just wanted to share a little bit about how, how practically, it works and, and, and how possible it is, because you may think that it is just not sort of logistically possible, you can't afford to fly out to Africa and to meet together, but literally it's possible.
The way that we did it was we worked with local community organizations who had the contacts with young people in their communities, and they would bring them together for us on Zoom calls, and we would literally have Zoom calls with. Groups of local people and then we would also set up WhatsApp groups and we would be able to communicate with them on there.
We'd be able to share polls and share, documents on the WhatsApp and get feedback and work together as we develop the different sort of materials we were doing and, and yeah, I just thought it's worth literally just spelling that out because some people may just sort of assume that it is not that sort of feasible to do.
Sarah Hand:
You're very right, Sarah, and thanks for doing that, because yeah, I mean, you know, if that is a small organization, you know, we were small with a small budget, absolutely right. What we might have historically done which was to gather people in focus group discussions and often then because you're pushed for time you've only gone overseas for like a week you're very extractive in your nature and But were able to do in the process that you've so well highlighted was give this iterative development space by bringing initially on the Zoom and then you put them on WhatsApp and you know, voices come alive and And I think that, a digitally enabled co -creation space that we definitely have now is that, um, in many ways, maybe a bit controversial to say, but I wonder if it hasn't been more equitable and, and hasn't provided more opportunities.
As you think a digitally enabled group discussion, well considered, you know, but the same safeguards, the same safeguards have to be applied when working with marginalized populations where, you know, issues of legal reprisal, et cetera, might be of, to them, or even just further stigma within their community.
Those same safeguards have to be considered and applied, but the digitally enabled co -creation space that we created, produced excellent results, but in my role as the CEO, it was obviously also the most economically efficient for us to achieve that objective without flying people out.
Sarah:
Yeah. Brilliant. Thanks. And can you share a bit more about how when Avert pivoted to the digital platforms, how did the use of digital storytelling evolve to drive behavior change?
Sarah Hand:
Our own organisational journey in the HIV response, has evolved and storytelling has always been there, but it goes back to how we were capturing those stories.
You know, gathered from in -country visits where people would share the impact around, you know, their lived experience in the HIV crisis in their countries. So, when I joined, we were already obviously using digital, what's evolved immensely during that time was obviously the power of social and then recognising what platforms as, low -income countries were becoming digitally enabled, what they were choosing to do.
So I think that, that evolution is continuing and it should continue for any other organisation that's working in this same space. but it was always about recognising how we could have the best impact with our audience.
So that you're not just simply taking, you know, print material and then making it online. It's very different from saying we're going to have a digital space. inserted digital strategy that means that this information can reach the audiences that we want. So having, having video, having short copy, having tools and resources that were not text heavy, language use, but highly instructive in terms of what people were looking to learn and, and how they could get that through simple navigation.
Sarah:
So I'm curious to find out if there's any campaigns which had storytelling at their heart where, where you feel they didn't achieve their intended impact, and are there, what learnings would you have drawn from those?
Sarah Hand:
Thanks. I mean, I think of the campaigns that, maybe try to be too edgy, where, where maybe we felt that the agenda is to try and, breakdown, conservative feelings around sex and sexuality, so let's have a campaign that, asks everyone to talk about, what they enjoy most about sex.
Now, you the HIV response has long, from the outset, once we got over the immediate medical model crisis always had that element of, of using sex and sexuality quite strongly within it. But I think some of our campaigns when we had, again, the target audience has always been in the countries with the highest, impact, so that takes you to East and Southern Africa, parts of Eastern Europe, I think maybe where we were trying to push boundaries that weren't, for cultural reasons weren't ready to be pushed, and I think a learning in, in that, comes back to, again, what we've learned so much from through the co -creation process,we might have assumed that the young person telling their story might hit on certain issues, and then they don't, you know. we need to push that or is that I think, um, yeah, campaigns done as well are the ones where maybe we've, we've pushed more on sex and, know, where, where sex is still, I mean, I think, you know, globally is, is still, you know, it's a private it's and, so I think when we try and over challenge that or even invade on that, it might not always work.
Sarah:
And just counterbalancing that and where storytelling has been and I think continues to be so powerful within the HIV epidemic, which is as much access to healthcare and, and treatment is, still a big issue in certain areas. One of the biggest issues, right, the barriers is, is stigma, isn't it?
The, stigma around HIV still remains so strong. It's crazy, but so I think storytelling is so powerful to break that down, but why is it taking so long to break it down that stigma? Because the power of the stories is that, is to try and show you know, the real person, isn't it?
So to get to know, understand this is a person, they're not a disease and break down the, the issues around. Shame and, and all these things. So it can be incredibly powerful, can't it? But also why is it taking so long? Have you got any answers there?
Sarah Hand:
Yeah, yeah, thanks. I mean, I think, yeah, the, the stigma and discrimination that's existed around HIV from the outset is crushing. It, it cannot be underestimated and it's, it's absolutely crushing to progress. It's been there for all the reasons that we know and we, we won't go back over the history lesson but, you know, HIV started with marginalised populations and it's, the stigma, unfortunately has stuck because of the prejudice and lack of equality and human rights that existed then and sadly still exists now.
And while, the people who are living with HIV come from all walks of life, all sexual orientations and, and we, we seem not to be able to shake that it's still somehow seen as a, a shameful disease because it by and large occurs as a result of sex, which again is, you know, is a normal, a normal, normal part of the human existence. And so... Storytelling has without doubt helped shift the dial, and the dial has changed. I think although it's still, a crushing part of, as I say, the HIV response still today, that we will still hear people today living with HIV still fearful of telling, you know, their employer or, you know, even telling a health worker because they've changed services or whatever.
The dial has changed. What, is really damaging, though, that is not changing as quickly is self -stigma. It's the stigma individuals feel about themselves, on themselves. And that self -stigma obviously affects Every aspect of then how individuals living with HIV are able to fulfill their full potential. The burden that they feel around their lack of worth, you know, their lack of, you know, access to other, other things that bring, you know, simple pleasures to their right to healthcare, is something that we're continuing to work on storytelling obviously has to remain a key part of that I think the you know for all of us that are in that opportunity to present information and to enable people who have those lived experience to connect with others. I think our, opportunity lies in ensuring that we have a broad range of those stories being told, so that people don't switch off and, oh, you know, I've heard that before. You know, we have to ensure, because there is a broad, lived experience out there of living with HIV. I think it's about capturing that broad narrative so people in some cases who are, who think that HIV's over, who think that, yeah, isn't it, it's fine, isn't it now? They kind of say that rhetorically and then when you share stories to show that Well, no, it's not fine now. It's still not, There's still… I'd be quite surprised. So it's back to that issue of being able to ensure that we can tell that broad of, of lived experience so that people can be So, yeah, shocked into reminding and made to question the actions that they take that mean that that stigma unfortunately still exists.
So it's changing, dial is changing, but there's a lot more to go and, and we need a broad range of stories are, are being told.
Sarah:
Yeah. Thank you. And do you have any further thoughts that you want to share in the, in the light of sort of like the changing context this year in particular the, the US aid cuts and the UK aid budget cuts and, and how. Are things for the organizations in Africa that are transitioned to, are you still in touch with them at the moment?
And what more, can we do through storytelling to address the damaging narratives in the current context?
Sarah Hand:
Yeah. Thanks Sarah. Thanks for bringing that up. Yeah, so obviously the whole sector, the HIV response has been entirely upended by the decision for USAID to , Stop work, review and anticipate massive cuts to the sector that We should acknowledge they have vastly supported for the last, nearly two, two and a half decades their support has allowed the HIV response to make the progress that has been made, and there has been so much progress made. The HIV response has goals that we're aiming for, which we're not quite on track with, but, you know, we could, with more effort achieve, but the, the, um, upending of the HIV response means that those things are not going to happen now.
So, what's going to happen, and we're already seeing this, is that, who we have supported for so long to, you know, be able to speak out about their HIV, access HIV prevention because they understand they're at risk or stay on their treatment because they're one of the 39 people, 39 million people living with HIV are, are, staying on their treatment or understanding the importance of their treatment and are now losing that access to maintain their, treatment programs are now anxiously understanding what's going to happen. of course, you know, there's going to be, short, medium and longer term actions that are going to be centred around the fact that, I think that there's going to be a lot of reprioritizing and reworking out what needs to happen because what we were doing is not going to continue as it was, but we know what needs to be done.
I think that behavior change communication, supported through storytelling, a vital part of the efforts in prevention because it does not have to be a one -off. does exactly that. It brings people to understanding what their risks are. For people living with HIV, that, that sense that you're not alone, that storytelling, brings, sense that, I'm going to hear what other people are doing, But it needs to now, because of, again, other changes that we're seeing, it needs to be supported by an evidence base. So where people might, and HIV has long suffered from this, which is, you know, a massive amount of misinformation. Which is back to what feeds the stigma and discrimination challenge. There's no end of misinformation. You can stand on your head, you can do all these, you know, unproven things, and that will mean that you don't get HIV or you will, you know, you'll cure yourself of HIV. None of those things are true. But we need to counter them now. We need to counter the growing level of misinformation that will... continue to be prevalent to throw people's understanding of what is correct and what's not correct. again, having storytelling supported and amplified through evidence -based information providers like the Avert Takeover Partners, I think will, help in this immediate period as the sector re -orders around the cuts and the impact of those cuts on programmes. But it will, it will remain vital, but it, it'll need to be amplified, more strongly than the misinformation, which is well funded, and there's an objective, albeit a complete mystery to us why, there would be an objective around misinformation, there is, and, so I think our duty is to continue to find ways to counteract, to point out it. What's, what's not evidence -based and ensure that people have access to solid, busted, evidence -based information to support better and informed health choices.
Sarah:
Thank you. And, and we should probably just share now the, the website URL for be in the know.
Sarah Hand:
We have transferred Be In The Know to a fantastic, young, vibrant Kenyan organisation. They're operating in Kenya, but obviously BeInTheKnow.org is operating in globally, but the, content, , the look and feel and the content that is carried on, across the Be In The Know brand from the website through to the social channels, we're, largely, targeting, the regions of the world and the people that continue to face the biggest burden and challenges around HIV.
BeInTheKnow.org is now in, safe and innovative and creative hands. And I think they, you know, they are particularly, young and energetic and their creative comms and their narrative change work. And I think, you know, what's exciting for us is I think it's important to recognise that Kenya Comms Hub do work on a broader range of narrative change issues, including some of the issues that we're seeing as a result of the oppression of, you know, free speech and rights -based health communication.
Sarah:
And I think that just to add that be in the know, it's, it is broader than just HIV, it's sexual health and has a very positive attitude to pleasure, sexual pleasure, and, and it just has got so much useful information for young people. Yeah. So do check it out. Sarah, what's the most important advice you'd give to people on using storytelling to create positive change?
Sarah Hand:
I think one of the important aspects of using storytelling is definitely the issue of working with and engaging with the client the, you know, the community member whose story that you're going to tell. You have a, you have a responsibility to make sure that, their story is the story that they want to tell, so don't over -exaggerate, influence or, or burden, but help them understand the power of their voice, the power of their story and the power that it can have. The, the video series that, that you worked on right at the end of, of our ownership of Be in the Know, that's now been transferred to the Kenya Comms Hub, powerful stories where, with your careful handling, you gave voice to community health workers who were able to talk about, you know, their own lived experience with HIV and what motivated them. Um, yeah, trans individual who was able to talk, you know, openly and passionately about what it meant in an environment that we might think, gosh, you know, what must that life be like? But they were able to, to speak and I think that that's what the storytelling piece, um, comes from. So, you know, making sure that You know, we find the stories that need telling, but we allow the people whose stories they are to tell them as they want to and help them recognize that that story could help somebody else
They often initially know that their story was going to be a powerful change maker. For other people also sharing their experience, but not, not aware, not openly able to communicate. And I think the storytelling process gave them that, that voice, that confidence. So it was, it was a, a change opportunity for them as an individual, but then to know that what they had shared would help others is extremely powerful.
Sarah:
Thank you. Yeah. That's so powerful. Right, last question. What's a short story from your work that brings you joy?
Sarah Hand:
Oh, uh, there's so many. I mean, you know, many, many, many years ago, many decades ago, when I worked as a community midwife it was working in this area that, really. Got me motivated and, and determined to then go and work in Eastern Southern Africa.
But in London, the majority of women living with HIV, that we were looking after were from, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa. So they were from the region, but they'd come to the UK we were looking after them. But there's, there's some incredible stories. Of their lives, the struggles and hardships that they had gone through.
Not just to, you know, living with HIV in the nineties was very different to living with HIV now. so recognizing that their lives would end, but they were determined to migrate to. a safer place where they could have their child. And there's always one woman that I will always remember who undertook a very difficult migrant journey. I mean, we hear so much more about migrant journeys these days, but very difficult. Migrant journey in those days from, from Uganda made her way to London, made her way to us and, and we looked after her. And, she did give birth to, she came with a little boy as well though. But she gave birth to a little girl, who then did not, become vertically infected with the HIV that, that she had as the mum. Um, that the older son also had, but her story and the migrant journey that she undertook her determination to have a baby that would not have HIV because as much as health information was available then she knew that it was at least possible and she felt her journey. To the UK would, would help that.
But, I, yeah, I won't, I won't forget her and I won't forget, how her life and her story, impacted on me and made me feel that, yeah, that there has to be more done. So that, women like her could feel as safe to have their babies without HIV in their own countries with, with, with their own support networks, with their own culture and, and traditional norms around the birth of a child and. And, the growing up of a, a girl and, yeah, I won't forget her. The stories that she told me, um, I had not been to Uganda at that point. I have since been. And, yeah, and, and she inspired me to go and, and to understand a, a bigger world out there.
Sarah:
Thank you Sarah. Thank you for all your words of wisdom that you've shared with us today. I really appreciate it and yeah, I just want to wish you all the best as you move on to your, I know you are looking now for your next venture, and yeah, looking forward to seeing where you go next.
Thank you.
Sarah Hand:
Sarah, to you too. Thank you.
Sarah:
I just love how Sarah's leadership style shines through every story she tells. It's rooted in empathy, resilience, and courage from supporting mothers living with HIV as a midwife, or making the bold move to transition averts core brands to African-led organizations. She's shown that leading with heart often means making brave choices, and she knows how to bring people along with her through the stories she tells.
There's so much learning from that conversation, including how we can better use our platforms to support a diversity of voices and lived experiences. Also, just to note that since we recorded that conversation earlier in the year, the incredible advocacy and lobbying that was carried out by civil society and others in the immediate aftermath of the US government cuts to USAID has more recently resulted in the renewal of some of the PEPFAR funding, which has given hope to some of the organizations working on HIV programs, especially in Africa.
There does, however, remain a huge funding gap and very real concerns remain that we will see a reversal of hard-won gains.
Okay, so here are my three biggest takeaways. Okay.
Number one, the right stories can be so powerful and move the dial on big issues. Sarah explained that communications to change behavior is all about uncovering the trigger to motivate people.
And she said personal stories of change are often the missing piece in behavior change work. We can have all the policies, funding, and health systems in place, but it's someone's lived experience that truly connects, breaks down stigma and makes someone stop and think, that could be me or I'm not alone.
It's a reminder of how finding the right stories to tell when done with empathy and respect can shift perspectives and change lives. Stories have played a key role of the past few decades in dramatically reducing the stigma around HIV, although there is still more work to do and especially around self-stigma.
Number two, co-creation isn't just ethical. It creates better stories and stronger impact. Sarah shared how avert embraced co-creation, inviting young people from the communities where Avert was working to play an active role in shaping stories and campaigns. This wasn't a tick box exercise in responsible communications.
It was about truly listening and building solutions together when people feel heard and included, the content we create resonates more deeply and has a lasting impact. Co-creation also helps avoid mistakes like the campaign Sarah mentioned that pushed boundaries around talking about sex in ways that were culturally inappropriate.
It's a powerful reminder if you are not part of your target audience, it's even more important to bring them into your storytelling process. It's the surest way to ensure your messages land with the people you want to reach with respect, relevance, and impact. Number three. Evidence backed stories are key to fighting misinformation.
One of Sarah's big messages was the need to ground stories in evidence. In a world where misinformation can spread faster than facts, storytelling isn't just about emotional connection. It's about trust. Evidence backed stories give people not only something to feel, but also something reliable to act on.
They help cut through myths, build health literacy, and empower people to make informed decisions. So whether you're talking about HIV climate change, or any issue where myths abound, pairing lived experience with credible data is one of the most powerful ways to create change. You can check out Be In The Know At Be in the know.org, which is now run by the amazing team at Kenya Comms Hub.
It's full of brilliant, inclusive sexual health content.
If today's conversation has you thinking about how you could better share stories, I'd love to help you explore that. You'll find links in the show notes to my brand storytelling services and resources. And as always, if you enjoyed the episode, please follow the podcast, leave a review and share it with a friend.
It really helps other big-hearted rebels and change makers find us. Until next time, uncover your story, own it, share it, and shine.