African Broadcasters Sign Declaration on HIV/AIDS Coverage to Help Fight Epidemic

Broadcasters from more than 20 African countries on Wednesday signed an HIV/AIDS declaration at the close of a three-day summit examining the media's role in the global fight against HIV/AIDS in Johannesburg, South Africa, SABC News reports (SABC News, 10/5). The summit was jointly organized by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the South African Broadcasting Corporation, in association with the Southern African Broadcasting Association (Kaiser Family Foundation Weekly Update, 10/7). The broadcasters said they will build on their current efforts to inform their respective populations about HIV/AIDS and resolved to further expand their efforts to fighting the disease in a pan-African collaboration called, "The African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS" (African Broadcast Media Leaders Summit statement, 10/5). In their declaration, broadcasters vowed to prioritize reporting on issues relating to children, youth, women, orphans and other groups vulnerable to the pandemic, devoting significant airtime to HIV/AIDS-related programming and public service announcements, and producing programs that combat stigma and focus on gender relations, risky sexual behavior and poverty (Old Fort Declaration on HIV/AIDS, October 2005). To achieve their goals, the broadcasters agreed that the partnership will focus on technical support, skill development, facilitation of co-productions and program sharing, advocacy for increased funding from donor sources for HIV/AIDS-relevant programming and the development of indigenous programs (African Broadcast Media Leaders Summit statement, 10/5). The broadcasters decided to immediately begin working on achieving the goals and to meet again in one year to review their progress (SABC News, 10/5). The Kaiser Family Foundation provided background to the broadcasters by producing country-specific fact sheets for 19 African nations and sub-Saharan Africa (Kaiser Family Foundation Weekly Update, 10/7).

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