19 June 2006

Bonn, Germany: In 1996, Kyrgyzstan was the last country in the world to be removed from the World Health Organization’s list of countries considered HIV free.

Nearly a decade later, this country of five million has about 700 people officially registered as having the virus that causes AIDS. Health officials, however, estimate the real figure to be up to 10 times higher.

Despite this relatively low number of infections, the rapid spread of HIV among injection drug users and a high syphilis rate led to a joint UN initiative to strengthen the government’s response to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The initiative was launched in 2002 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other UN agencies in Kyrgyzstan.

As the media play a major role in the country – an estimated 95 percent of all Kyrgyz households receive TV broadcasts – the initiative made it a priority to get them involved. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme led the efforts by preparing an overview of the media’s current perception of HIV/AIDS and reporting style.

To identify journalists’ needs, the team of UNVs involved in the initiative conducted interviews with print and broadcast practitioners and public health experts in seven regions. From this exercise, suggestions surfaced on training and information needs. A mass media prevention strategy reflecting these elements and outlining actions to increase their capacity to report effectively on the epidemic was presented to 50 stakeholders and it was implemented starting in early 2004.

As a first step of the HIV/AIDS communication strategy, UNDP, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and UNV conducted training workshops with journalists to share the latest data on HIV/AIDS and exchange on appropriate reporting techniques. This enabled journalists to go beyond simply reporting the numbers of infections and to introduce the human side of the epidemic by talking to members of risk groups and people living with HIV/AIDS.

So far 150 journalists have participated in these trainings, resulting in an increase of HIV/AIDS coverage. One of them is Nuraim Manapbaeva, chief editor of Radio Evropa Plus Kyrgyzstan, a popular radio station in the north of the country. Prior to the training, she says, her knowledge of the epidemic was minimal. "I had heard about HIV/AIDS before, but the seminars gave me a much clearer understanding of AIDS. I now [know] how the epidemic spreads,” says Nuraim. “The seminars also brought us together with people living with HIV/AIDS [and] this made it much more concrete and showed me the human dimension. Before I just reported about statistics.”

With support from UNV, Nuraim persuaded her station’s management to air a show on HIV/AIDS. Judging by listeners’ reactions, she says, the show was a success. Other stations have also put HIV/AIDS on the agenda. In Bishkek, a live call-in show on one of the capital’s most popular radio stations featured a married couple where one of the partners had contracted HIV. Public feedback was encouraging as it showed that people were supportive and interested in hearing others speak out about HIV.

To reach an even larger audience, a team of young scriptwriters is working with a TV director to produce a drama series on HIV/AIDS that will air later in 2005. As TV series are popular in Kyrgyzstan, those involved in the initiative anticipate that the eight-show serial will have a big impact on raising the awareness of HIV/AIDS throughout the country.