Asia-Pacific: Innovative Media Tools Deliver HIV/AIDS Messages

At this week's ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, the region's largest meeting on the pandemic, journalism and media experts called for rethinking how HIV/AIDS is reported.

Syed Qamar Abbas, deputy manager of the AIDS control program in Pakistan's Sindh province, said creative approaches are needed. "Innovative methods, such as tele-films, are effective in changing attitudes and lifestyles. In our research, we found out that films made for television have 30 percent more impact than the traditional ways of presenting news or issues," he said.

R. Jeevanandham of the non-governmental organization Nalamdana ("Are you well?" in Tamil) said his group has received positive feedback on the cable radio program it runs in southern India. The show aims to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and decrease stigma among women undergoing antiretroviral treatment.

"We use cable radio to address depression among women and enable them to access special counseling," said Jeevanandham. "We also send messages via popular songs and dramas tackling key issues on HIV/AIDS."

Media too often frame HIV/AIDS as a health issue and ignore the cultural forces that drive the epidemic, noted Rosalia Sciortino, associate professor at Thailand's Mahidol University. Trevor Cullen, head of journalism at Australia's Edith Cowan University, agreed. Media have "omitted the why and the how" when reporting on HIV/AIDS, he said.

Ultimately, "we have to use all different media to get the message across," said Cullen. "Use all media, but try to go for quality. For this, you need to train people. We're just reporting the tip of the iceberg, only 20 percent of the story. We need to realize that HIV/AIDS is a massive story that affects all aspects of our lives."

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