AIDS Gets Airtime on African Radio

GBOYEGA SOTUNDE/INTERNEWS NIGERIA News Editor Esther Okafor of Cool FM, Lagos, interviews Jennifer, a child orphaned by AIDS, during an Internews workshop in Abuja, Nigeria. An estimated 1.3 million Nigerian children have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related illnesses. Internews’ “Local Voices” program trains African radio journalists, talk show hosts and deejays in effective coverage of HIV/AIDS.

At an Internews training in Kenya, a woman living with HIV told a group of radio journalists, "I lost my job after my employer came to know my HIV status. My children were chased from school and my relatives stopped visiting me."

Such stories are all too common in parts of the world. But such stigma and discrimination threaten the effectiveness of prevention, care and treatment programs.

To stimulate public dialogue about this epidemic, and to provide more accurate information about prevention and treatment, Internews has developed "Local Voices," a USAID-funded project that trains and supports local radio journalists, disc jockeys and talk show hosts to improve their coverage of HIV/AIDS.

Internews has initially focused its "Local Voices" work in Kenya, where nearly 10% of the population is infected, according to the United Nations; and in Nigeria, one of the countries in the world most affected by HIV/AIDS, with 3.8 million infected.

"This is an unprecedented epidemic, and it’s going to require an unprecedented response by all sectors of society," said Internews HIV/AIDS Advisor Liz Gold. "The media have the unique power to create a more supportive environment for prevention and treatment to work successfully."

BENJAMIN KIPLAGAT/INTERNEWS KENYA Kenyan radio journalists at a “Local Voices” workshop edit their stories at Internews' media resource center and production studio in Nairobi. The workshop focused on covering voluntary counseling and testing for HIV.

Internews has developed a unique and comprehensive approach to engaging the media in the AIDS challenge, according to Gold. Extensive, on-theground research first helped Internews to identify the obstacles to effective media coverage of HIV/AIDS, from journalists’ lack of scientific information, to the fact that most do not have access to the Internet or even a phone at their desks.

Internews researchers found that the most serious obstacle was that radio station managers and owners often discouraged stories on HIV/AIDS as "too gloomy" and "not newsworthy," or were only interested in programs that would be funded by a sponsor.

"Local Voices" thus began work in each country with a series of executive luncheons for “media decision-makers” to get them on board from the beginning of the project.

Internews then designed separate trainings for radio journalists, deejays, and talk show hosts, tailored to the specific needs of each profession. Trainees get expert instruction in the science of the virus, go on field trips to HIV counseling and testing centers or AIDS orphanages, talk with people living with HIV/AIDS, and get intensive training in how to produce professional-quality broadcasts that engage and appeal to audiences. Individual follow- up training, travel grants for journalists to cover stories outside their city, and modest equipment grants all reinforce the training.

Most significantly, journalists can use the media resource centers and radio studios at Internews’ offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Abuja, Nigeria to research, edit and produce their programs.

A little over a year into the program, the signs are encouraging. Due to good listener response and quality production, several trainees have convinced previously skeptical managers to give them weekly programs on HIV/AIDS, and they are winning awards, promotions, and scholarships. Most importantly, the voices of people living with HIV and AIDS are more prevalent on Kenyan and Nigerian radio today, which can help reduce stigma.

See profiles of Mia Malan and Cece Fadope, who head up Internews’ "Local Voices" projects in Kenya and Nigeria, respectively.