Media & HIV/AIDS in East & Southern Africa: A Resource Book

This publication presents the reports and papers prepared under a project that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) carried out to explore preventive information based on investigative journalism and HIV/AIDS in East and Southern Africa. It contains practical and technical guidelines for media practitioners specialising or interested in HIV/AIDS issues.

Part I presents a general overview of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its demographic, social, and economic impact in sub-Saharan African countries; common concepts, terms, and definitions; ethical approaches to reporting on the disease; and media functions in HIV/AIDS prevention and management. Part II presents case studies of investigative reporting on selected trends and social phenomena which are suspected of contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS in five East and Southern African countries. These trends are migrant populations; certain persisting cultural practices; and high consumption of alcohol. Part III deals with findings and recommendations from content analytic studies of media coverage of HIV/AIDS in four East and Southern African countries during the period of January 1997 to June 1998.

Taken together, the conceptual discussions, the investigative reports, and the findings from the content analytic studies point to the need:

• for enhanced training for media professionals in East and Southern Africa on HIV/AIDS coverage;
• to create HIV/AIDS resources centres and databases easily accessible to media professionals;
• for workshops and seminars to sensitise editors, producers, and media managers about the social and economic costs of HIV/AIDS and other major health risks in Africa; and
• for a more sustained and intensive use of media resources in support of efforts to prevent and manage the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Through this publication, UNESCO hopes to contribute to the generation of the requisite interest, awareness, knowledge, and understanding among media practitioners of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in African countries and its immense social, demographic, and economic impact.