The media’s coverage and reportage of the HIV epidemic in Nigeria has reduced significantly, compared to how it used to be in the early 2000s.
A major factor responsible for this is that young journalists have limited information about the current trends in the HIV response owing largely to inadequate dissemination of these changes and trends outside of the sphere of service providers and some beneficiaries of HIV services.
This limited access to information and decline in the reportage of HIV issues by media professionals have also fuelled a negative perception among the public about HIV as a non-issue.
This trend implies that it would be challenging for Nigeria to achieve the goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
To address this gap, Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) and Living Health International Foundation with support from PEPFAR Nigeria‘s partner, Henry Jackson Foundation Medical Research International (HJFMRI Lte Gte) organized a 5-day workshop for journalists to provide in-depth knowledge and the current trends about HIV response in Nigeria.
Capacity-building for Southern Journalists
The 5-day training program, which held in Lagos, had in attendance broadcast, print and online journalists from the South-West, South-East and South-South regions of the country. The participants included a mix of new entrants, mid-careers and senior journalists, which provided an opportunity for smooth knowledge transmission among participants.
Describing the objectives of the training, the Executive Director of JAAIDS, Ms Olayide Akanni explained that the training was organized to provide journalists with updates on the HIV response in Nigeria, progress and challenges; groom a community of practice of media responders for the HIV programme; and discuss opportunities for utilizing effective communication to address the challenges faced.
Akanni buttressed that “over the years, different partners have invested in training journalists but in the past 5 to 10 years, that has changed and we believe that strongly accounts for the decline that we have in the HIV/AIS reportage and the general public even believe that HIV is no longer a thing in Nigeria.”
She noted that “for us to create awareness and to bring the public’s consciousness about the reality of HIV and the challenges that we still need to deal with, we felt that it was important to begin to engage with communication experts.
“We decided to have these training for journalists, first of all, to update them on new interventions and development in the HIV response in Nigeria and also to groom a community of practise where journalists can come together, network and share stories and help to keep HIV in the news because we know that once an issue is in the news, it is in the front burner of public discourse and public consciousness is renewed to the reality.”
She remarked, “we are also saying that it is important that we bridge the knowledge gap so that journalists can begin to provide adequate and accurate information to their audiences.”
Dr Gbenga Adebayo, the Executive Director of LivingHealth International, explained that the capacity-building was organized in the realization that the National HIV response now has gaps in its communication arm.
Dr Adebayo shared that “some people are still stuck in the past, they don’t know some inventions and the drivers of HIV, and without this, they won’t be able to provide adequate coverage of the subject.
He noted that “we expect that after this capacity-building, journalists will begin to tell the right stories and shift away from stigma and discrimination.”
He also emphasized that the media should communicate “the need to get back to community response so that people can understand and respond to the issues appropriately, instead of focusing solely on the medicalization of HIV.”
Towards 2030: Ending stigmatization and tracking new entrants
Dr Lucas Koyejo, the Lagos State Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), while delivering his presentation at the training, shared the importance of ending discrimination against PLHIV.
Quoting the HIV and AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act, 2014, Dr Koyeko explained that the rights of PLHIV must be upheld at all times, and anyone who violates the provisions of the Act would be penalized according to the Act.
Dr Koyejo charged the media to reduce stigma and discrimination against PLHIV “by promoting positive messaging about HIV and challenging negative stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes.”
He also buttressed the use of responsible language, avoiding stigmatizing terms and perpetuating harmful stereotypes, while charging media professionals to ensure smooth collaboration with experts and organizations working on HIV/AIDS to ensure accurate and effective reporting.
Also identifying the role of the media in ending stigmatization against PLHIV, Dr Koyejo said “the media can play a critical role in advocating for policies and programs that support HIV prevention, treatment, and care. This includes highlighting the needs of the populations most affected by HIV, such as sex workers, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, and transgender people.”
Corroborating him, Dr John Paul Mbah, Senior Programme Officer, Heartland Alliance said “if we must end HIV, we must cater for the key population,” stressing that new cases of HIV can spring up from this target group if they are neglected in the response phase.
2030 target is on the right track
The 2030 target to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic seems to be on the right track in Nigeria. The target aims to ensure that 95% of people living with HIV know their status; 95% of people who know their status are on treatment; and 95% of people on treatment have their viral loads suppressed.
Olayide Akanni said “given that we’re speaking to the 95-95-95 target, it is important that people out there know their status. The goal is that 95% of the population will know their status and 95% of those who know their status will be placed on treatment. So, the first step is that people know their status and be on treatment, and those on treatment are virally suppressed
“And when the general public knows that someone who is on treatment and now virally suppressed cannot transmit the infection. That way, the stigma surrounding HIV is reduced as people now realize that HIV is lifelong and it does not have to be a death sentence as people have imagined it to be.”
Dr Murphy Akpu, Adviser, Science Systems and Services with the UNAIDS, who remarked that Nigeria is well placed to achieve the 2030 targets, shared that a lot needs to be done to ensure the progress made does not decline.
Dr Akpu said, as a country “we have to continue to create an environment where people feel comfortable to come out and access the services. For those who don’t yet know their HIV status to feel comfortable to go out and get tested, for those who already know to continue to go and get treatment and get the information and support that they need to get virally suppressed.
“It is by all of these coming together that we can achieve the target.”
Dr Akpu also explained that ending HIV/AIDS in Nigeria will take more than health sector mobilization, “it will take community efforts because we have to think about how HIV is perceived in our social construct, the minds of our people, address those things that fuel stigma and deal with them.
“If we reduce stigma and discrimination, we will achieve the target, if we don’t we will find ourselves trailing off-track,” he added.
Funding HIV Response Beyond 2030
Dr Yewande Olaifa from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), while speaking about how to sustain the HIV response beyond 2030 shared that Nigeria needs to be prepared for a significant restructuring of donor funds for HIV.
Dr Olaifa, who explained that funding for HIV response will reduce after achieving the 2030 targets, said it is important that fundamental questions on implementation arrangement are asked, to drive sustainability.
“How prepared is Nigeria for significant restructuring of donor funds for HIV, how much time does Nigeria have to restructure and who (government, MDAs, private, community) has the mandate to cover the roles currently played by partners?” She asked.
She explained that the priority of the National HIV response is to “achieve epidemic control, reduce transmission from mother to child, ensure the quality of care to ensure it is client-centred, strengthen data management and ensure all data are synchronized, with sustainability being at the front burner.”
She recommended the “redesign of the donor/partner relationships with host country institutions range from direct service delivery to technical assistance to mandated structures and embark on strategic engagement and communication with all stakeholders.”
Lasting impact on beneficiaries
The five-day training was a robust session with diverse topics presented by key actors within the HIV response space including donor agencies, government actors and Civil Society Organizations.
Describing how impactful the training has been, participants shared that the training was all-encompassing and captured the nitty gritty of HIV/AIDS.
Faysol Oluwakemi, Health Content Producer and Anchor at Fresh FM, shared that he learnt about how media practitioners need to change the negative narrative about HIV and produce content that dispels assumptions in the intervention of HIV.
He said “using the power of storytelling, it’s very important to always consider the 7Cs. The narrative must command attention, must be clear and not misleading, the information and benefits must be well communicated, and the individual must create trust, be consistent and also make sure there is always a call to action in the response and intervention of HIV.”
Umo Akwang, Editor, Sparkling FM Calabar, also commended the organizers, stressing that the training has helped her to understand the adverse effects of stigmatization on people living with HIV and the critical role the media has to play in ensuring an end to all forms of stigmatization in our society.
Akwang said “significantly, the training has helped to realign my thoughts with regards HIV, going forward, to curate and share stories that not only represent the present realities on HIV but the responses and progress made by partners and stakeholders in the ecosystem.”
Chioma Chukwuemeka, a journalist with Sapentia TV from Onitsha, said the training has been a learning curve for her, with an understanding that the current discrimination experienced by PLHIV is as a result of the media portrayal of these issues.
She thereafter noted that “the training has equipped me with information to tell stories about HIV and PLHIV in a positive light. Again understanding that as a journalist, the way I communicate health issues will go a long way in the acceptance of the information.”
Community of Practise
A major outcome of the training is to set up a community of practice which will help to drive a strategic media for HIV – building consensus on the role of media collaborators in the next phase of the HIV response in Nigeria.
Dr Gbenga Adebayo shared that the community of practice will be a platform where media practitioners are well-informed and fully abreast of what is happening in the HIV space.
He added that “the platform will serve as a network for journalists to access resources, data and collaborate on HIV.”
He mentioned that it is expected that through the platform, there will increase in rights-based and quality reportage of HIV issues in Nigeria.
Faysol Oluwakemi also noted that the community of practice “will benefit me in the area of content inspiration and creation. It will also open doors for collaboration to achieve common goals in the HIV response and intervention.”
Chioma Chukwuemeka remarked that the impact of the community of practice has started already, as it is an opportunity for her to collaborate with journalists across the country and to disseminate her content to a wider audience.