Addis Ababa, December 03, 2011 – A high level international media workshop was conducted today by ICASA 2011 secretariat at Ras Hotel, only hours from ICASA 2011 offical launch. Organized to sensitize the media on HIV/AIDS related concerns, HIV reporting and about ICASA 2011 as a whole, it also served as a forum for various media houses to share experiences on HIV reporting and related issues.
Attended by Dr. Meskerem Grunitzky Bekele is Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for West and Central Africa, Dr. Carmela Abate, PEPFAR Country Director in Ethiopia, Dr. Mbulawa Mugabe, UNAIDS Deputy Regional Director, Eastern and South Africa, Dr. Yigeremu Abebe, President of ICASA 2011 and local, regional and international media houses, it was a workshop that brought high officials and the media to work together in the response against the HIV epidemic.On the workshop, relevant HIV and AIDS data, registered successes and the road ahead were talked about including various stakeholders' contributions to the success of ICASA 2011 preparations.
Messages that need to be reinforced by the media such as PMTCT, prevention of HIV, access to treatment, stigma & discrimination and target audience-focused communication were also discussed to bring about behavior change in the fight against the HIV epidemic.
Furthermore, issues such as the impact of Global fund's Round 11 postponement on new set goals and measures taken to oversee governments' use of HIV funds were among questions posed by media houses.
In addition, guide to ethics were handed out by UNAIDS to facilitate ethical reporting, while additional UNAIDS web resources as guides to appropriate and correct terminologies regarding HIV/AIDS were pointed out.
Source:
http://www.icasa2011addis.org/home/199-pre-icasa-2011-media-sensitization-workshop
