August 2008

How Good Reporting Improves Health and Saves Lives

As 25,000 HIV experts gather in Mexico City for the International AIDS Conference, we want to share with you some stories of Internews' health journalism projects. Because accurate health information saves lives, our Local Voices and Mekong Turnaround projects train journalists how to report effectively on HIV/AIDS and other health issues around the world.

• INDIA: "We Will Make Our Own Destiny" - Radio Show Tackles Stigma on HIV/AIDS
• CAMBODIA: From Rifle to Radio Mic - a Soldier Fights HIV/AIDS
• VIETNAM/THAILAND: On Road Trip, Vietnamese Journalists Explore "Human Face" of AIDS
• UGANDA: African Journalists Beef Up Their Reporting Skills at HIV Conference
• MEXICO: Three Internews Trainees Awarded Trips to Intl AIDS Conference

INDIA: "We Will Make Our Own Destiny" - Radio Show Tackles Stigma on HIV/AIDS

In a world where misconceptions and stigma still cloud discussions of HIV/AIDS, a recently-launched radio series in southern India offers a refreshing take on HIV/AIDS dialogue. True to its name—Ini Oru Vidhi Seivom (From Now On We Will Make Our Own Destiny)—the program has taken matters into its own hands, providing accurate and helpful information that might otherwise be hard to find. More importantly, Ini Oru Vidhi Seivom incorporates listener input to respond to what the community really needs. (More)

CAMBODIA: From Rifle to Radio Mic - a Soldier Fights HIV/AIDS

For years, Sergeant Yoeun Sangoeun’s weapon was his AK-47 rifle, used to fight enemies like the Khmer Rouge. It was only three years ago, through Internews' Mekong Turnaround project, that he discovered another weapon - the media. On July 14, 2001, Yoeun Sangoeun began to conquer an invisible enemy. Since he was diagnosed with HIV that fateful day, he has learned firsthand of the discrimination and injustice against soldiers living with HIV. Together with Internews’ network of journalists and Internews Europe's Mekong Turnaround project, Sangoeun has created a series of stories that have significantly impacted this largely marginalized group. (More)

VIETNAM/THAILAND: On Road Trip, Vietnamese Journalists Explore "Human Face" of AIDS

Seven Vietnamese journalists have been inspired to explore new dimensions of the “human face” of HIV/AIDS after visiting Thailand on an intensive study tour. 

Organized and led by Internews Europe, the six-day trip introduced print and broadcast journalists to programs that have successfully reduced stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV in Thailand.

UGANDA: African Journalists Beef Up Their Reporting Skills at HIV Conference

Six Internews-trained journalists participated in an international conference on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in June. At the five-day Global HIV Implementers' Conference, held in Kampala, Uganda, the journalists received valuable health journalism training as well as insight into the epidemic.

As their own stations cannot afford to send them to international events, the six journalists, two from Ethiopia and four from Kenya, were only able to attend the conference due to scholarships from Internews. The scholarships were part of Internews’ Local Voices health journalism program, funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). (More)

MEXICO: Three Internews Trainees Awarded Trips to International AIDS Conference

Two journalists from Kenya and one from Nigeria, who have been trained by Internews through its Local Voices project, were finalists in the 2007 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Journalism in Africa and have won all-expenses-paid trips to the International AIDS conference in Mexico City taking place August 3-8.

Rose Wangui is a TV journalist reporting for Nation TV in Kenya. She was honored for her story, set in Nyanza Province, about grandmothers who take care of their grandchildren because the middle generation has died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Frederick Muriithi works for the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s HIV radio program, "A Stitch in Time." He has reported on what prevents people from donating blood given the undersupply of safe blood in Kenya.

On her health program called Healthy Living for HOT-FM in Abuja, Nigeri, Uzomba Chinyere Joy, known on air as "Princess Chi," has produced stories about getting tested for HIV and disclosing one's HIV status (see spotlight top left).