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HIV/AIDS: Media urged to show sensitivity
KATHMANDU, NOV 30 - People living with HIV/AIDS have expressed their dismay at the media coverage of Friday’s UNDP seminar in the capital, saying it would harm the fight against the epidemic if continued in the same vein.
"I would like to ask the media: are you out to help us lead our lives normally or just get some smug satisfaction by sensationalisation?" Salim Akhtar, an HIV positive and co-ordinator of Nepal Plus, an organisation of HIV positive, questioned here today. He was also very critical of some of the promotional campaigns of the government against HIV/AIDS.
Akhtar, who is among the six HIV positive people who will declare their status on the World AIDS Day on December 1, urged the media to be sensitive towards the PLWHA, given the stigma attached with the epidemic in the country. He was speaking after the concluding day of the three-day seminar - Leadership for Results: HVI/AIDS Programme - organised by UNDP and Human Resources and Development Centre (HURDEC).
Akhtar’s anguish was caused by the exposure of a woman HIV positive in a section of the media on Saturday who was "crestfallen and down to tears". Akhtar also claimed that the women’s daughter has been asked to leave her hostel by the authorities under pressure from parents of other girls. "She has been devastated."
Meanwhile, more than 160 representatives from 20 ministries, local bodies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and civil society reiterated their commitment to combat HIV/AIDS in the face of growing challenges posed by the epidemic.
Sharing their experiences, the participants said the "unique" programme was really effective in building leadership that would multiply itself in combating the epidemic. Speaking to The Kathmandu Post after the seminar, a group of participants drawn from various fields, spoke of their "successes" as well as challenges vis-à-vis containment and prevention of the epidemic in their respective areas of work and influence.
All of them expressed their gratitude for UNDP for coming up with such a programme which was different from past initiatives. Janit Ghale from Maiti Nepal, rehabilitation centre for trafficked girls and women, Rajendra KC of Nepal Plus and Bishnu Sharma Acharya from Health Group, Biratnagar summed up the feeling of the participants: "UNDP has led the way and given us the confidence that we can effect positive changes in the attitude of the people and can achieve significant results."
The programme is part of a global UNDP initiative to build leadership and commitment among governments, media corporate sector and civil society across the world, "to address the underlying causes of HIV/AIDS and contain the epidemic". This programme is being spearheaded by UNDP Reach (Regional HIV and Development Programme for South and North East Asia), New Delhi.Posted on: 2003-11-29 10:21
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