Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. South Africa
  • News

HIV/AIDS takes positive turn in the media

    JOHANNESBURG

    Reporting on HIV/AIDS has taken a positive turn in South African newspapers, a recent panel discussion at the Nelson Mandela-foundation concluded.

    According to PANOS, a London-based advocacy NGO, HIV/AIDS media coverage in most of southern Africa had changed over the last decade from a focus on fear to stories of hope.

    The South African Press Association quoted PANOS researcher Johanna Heneveld as saying, "There has also been a change in the language and imagery of HIV/AIDS reporting, from things like 'victims' to 'people living with AIDS', and from 'killer disease' to 'AIDS pandemic'."

    Heneveld described media reporting as "probably the most powerful tool to take HIV/AIDS away from being seen as a remote disease, through to the daily reality it is in our society".

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join