MTV Shuga Brings Sex Education To Nigerian Youth With TV Series

As part of the continuous drive to curb the spread of HIV and create awareness for sex education, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation has today announced the return of TV series, MTV Shuga to Nigeria for its 6^th and 7th season.

 The globally acclaimed, award-winning TV drama on family planning, sex education, urban youth culture and relationships will be produced and filmed in Nigeria for the third time. The returning cast this year are, actors Sharon Ezeamaka, Timini Egbuson and Jemima Osunde. Further cast members and roles will be revealed at a later date, while auditions will also be announced in the coming days.

Launched in 2009, MTV Shuga has since been aired in over 61 countries across the world, showing on more than 179 channels and reaching over 720 million households. It is part of a powerful 360-degree mass media campaign designed to raise awareness about HIV prevention and teenage pregnancy in Africa, with an evaluation released last year by the World Bank highlighting the positive impact that MTV Shuga has on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and health. The World Bank study found that after six months of watching MTV Shuga, Nigerian viewers were more than twice as likely to go to centers to get tested; and that the rate of girls with chlamydia who watched MTV Shuga was 58% lower than those who didn’t; season 6 will be hoping to realise similarly impressive results.    

The series will see the action move to Lagos, Kaduna and Kano, and will premiere on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322), other MTV networks and third party broadcasters around the world. With a particular focus on adolescent girls and their vulnerability to HIV infection and unintended pregnancy, MTV Shuga seasons 6 and 7 are set to continue to highlight issues affecting young people.

 Speaking about the launch, Executive Director of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Georgia Arnold, said,

 “Empowering young people to understand their choices for their own bodies has always been one of our major objectives. MTV Shuga highlights the many societal, economic and health challenges faced by young people in our society – from lack of basic sex education to peer pressure and intimate partner violence.

 By highlighting the sacrifices young people make, and the hurdles they have to overcome, we hope to encourage them to take control of their lives and bodies by helping them to make more informed choices about their sexual health and contraception.”

Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa, Alex Okosi added,

 “MTV Shuga is a trailblazing edutainment property that has a real world impact and has changed lives by making viewers reflect on their life choices. We are creating something that the people not only want to watch but what they will also want to identify with. It is exciting to bring back MTV Shuga to Nigeria a second time and we look forward to working together with all the amazing cast and crew.”

MTV Shuga is the brainchild of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MTV Base Africa.

Join the conversation by using the hashtag #MTVShugaBackToNaija. To find out more about MTV Shuga please go to www.MTVShuga.com, like MTV Shuga on www.facebook.com/MTVShuga; or follow MTV Shuga on Twitter or Instagram @MTVShuga.

Check out the announcement video below.