Accra, Sept. 14, GNA - The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Monday launched an advocacy project, dubbed: "Using the media to create greater public awareness of HIV/AIDS," to help change the negative public perception about the pandemic.

The project, would take the form of media dialogue, training workshops and a sponsored award by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) for the Best Reporter on HIV/AIDS at the 2010 GJA awards. It would also help the media to identify and determine responses to the challenges confronting the effective coverage of HIV/AIDS issues in Ghana.

Mr Ransford Tetteh, President of the GJA, said the project would sensitize and improve the technical knowledge of journalists on the virus and encourage them to pursue qualitative journalism in the coverage of HIV/AIDS.

He said Ghana's struggle in the eradication of the HIV/AIDS pandemic had been a mixed fortune as various media reportage revealed very minimal results in behavioural change in spite of the numerous educational campaigns, policies and programmes in place. He said if the power of the media was well explored it could give greater public awareness to the issues at stake and called on all media practitioners to take advantage of the project to enrich their knowledge and skills in issues concerning HIV/AIDS, the spread of the virus as well as the stigma and discrimination people living with HIV/AIDS suffer.

Mr Tetteh said current negative indications of social behavioural traits, especially among the youth required the support of the media to intensify the creation of greater public awareness to make consistent and sustained progress in stemming the spread of the pandemic. He thanked the GAC for the support, saying capacity building for the media was very crucial for practitioners to be able to carry out accurate information to the public.

Dr Angela El-Adas, Acting Director-General, GAC, said even though HIV infections was stabilising in Ghana, the annual new cases being reported was very high and likely to rise.

He said the Commission had therefore drawn a five-year programme to invest in evidence-based prevention interventions. She said it was a must for Ghana to avert new infections while scaling up treatment and care efforts for those already infected or affected.

Dr El-Adas said regardless of the fact that Ghana's HIV prevalence rate was one of the lowest in the sub-Saharan Africa, government continued to give serious attention to the pandemic as a major public health challenge with multidimensional effects.

She noted that the devastating ailment contributes to household vulnerability, poverty and impede national development efforts. She said the GAC could boast of partnerships with various stakeholders in creating a high level of awareness, promoting abstinence among the youth, safe sex among adults, providing counselling and testing services, care and support for PLWHAs, and orphans and vulnerable children and Anti-Retroviral Therapy.

Dr El-Adas said in spite of the interventions Stigma and discrimination against PLWHAs remained a great challenge and was stifling efforts to halt further spread.

She said in this regard the GAC had identified the media as an extremely important partner and a strategic vehicle to inform and educate the public on the need for the citizenry to lead healthy life styles, go for Voluntary Counselling and Testing to know their status and also embrace PLWHAs to help prevent further spread of the virus. Dr El-Adas said GAC recognised the need to engage the media to deepen knowledge on HIV/AIDS, enhance accurate reporting on the issue and keep them in the spotlight. 14 Sept. 09