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Conrad Mupesa

Mashonaland West Bureau

The Zimbabwean and global fight against Covid-19 should not see the HIV pandemic, which still claims many lives, being neglected and media houses should increase coverage, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Kindness Paradza said this week.

Addressing editors and station managers from media houses during a National Aids Council workshop in Chinhoyi on Thursday, he said while Government had achieved commendable progress against Covid-19, attention was needed from the media to increase coverage on HIV.

“Far from the belief in some quarters that HIV and AIDS stories are now tired and have probably been replaced by Covid-19, they remain relevant and worthy of our serious attention,” said Deputy Minister Paradza.

“HIV and AIDS have been part of our lives for nearly 30 years and have most probably received some of the most widespread coverage, leading to the feeling that the stories may have lost their appeal. I must, therefore, emphasise that the HIV and AIDS story remains an issue of public interest, which has an undying appeal as a story of both human suffering and hope.”

Deputy Minister Paradza lauded the nation for achieving 90-90-90 targets owing to the efforts of Government, non-governmental organisations and private organisations in convincingly reducing HIV prevalence and incidence.

He called on reporters and media houses to be creative and sensitive when reporting on HIV and AIDS.

“Coverage of HIV issues is only limited to the gory stories of who infected who and statistics of how many people have been infected by Covid-19, which tend to create victims out of some members of our society.

“Such coverage becomes stigmatising and stereotyping of certain groups of society and therefore misses the point and opportunity of giving the voice to the voiceless and projecting the developmental agenda therein. Reporting on HIV and AIDS requires creativity and sensitivity. Information is very strategic in decision making both at an individual and national level. In covering HIV, it is important, therefore, for editors to understand that different audiences and levels require suitable and customised information specific to their needs and levels.”

The media had also played a significant role in curbing the spread of Covid-19 by promoting relevant behaviour changes such as social distancing, hand sanitisation and wearing of masks.

Deputy Minister Paradza called for more efforts  to achieve 60 percent herd immunity.

“The uptake of vaccination is a difficult endeavour in the face of hardened behaviours,” he said. “But we can not fold our hands as editors and station managers, we have to up our act and be innovative.”

Deputy Minister Paradza called on the National Aids Council to assist media houses to develop media HIV and AIDS policies to protect media personnel.

“It is, therefore, very important that you do not abuse this role, but rather use it for the betterment of the nation as we face the challenges of addressing HIV and AIDS,” he said.

Herald editor Hatred Zenenga, Chronicle editor Lawson Mabhena and Umthunywa editor Gugu Ncube were some of the editors from the Zimpapers stable who attended the workshop.