Thursday 10 June 2022, Mbour - About thirty health journalists representing more than a dozen media (print, radio and TV) participated in a training workshop on content production and news processing on HIV and human rights.
The aim of the workshop was to sensitise media professionals to move away from negative perceptions and towards more ethical and professional media coverage of populations most vulnerable to HIV.
Organised by ENDA Santé, this workshop brought together journalists from 7 regions who are members of the network of the association of health and development journalists: Dakar, Kaolack, Kolda, Saint-Louis, Sédhiou, Thiès, and Ziguinchor.
This activity is part of the EpiC project, funded by PEPFAR and USAID and implemented by ENDA Santé in collaboration with FHI360. Its objective is to strengthen the legal and policy environment to increase access to prevention, treatment and care and to reduce the impact of HIV on vulnerable populations.
In Senegal, HIV prevalence is relatively low in the general population (0.3%), but high among marginalised groups. Despite efforts to combat stigma and discrimination, these groups are still subject to rejection.
Findings from situational analyses have shown that media professionals align themselves with the dominant trends in society. Media productions thus reflect negative socio-cultural and religious perceptions towards vulnerable populations, which reinforces the marginalisation and vulnerability of these groups.
ENDA Santé in its mission to accompany populations, particularly vulnerable groups, in the defence of their rights to access information and adequate health services has understood that media professionals, despite the above-mentioned elements, can play a role in the care of marginalised groups.
To this end, the journalists benefited from an enriching session on the social responsibility of the media professional in relation to HIV and human rights issues, editorial constraints, the formulation of objectives for the production of content on HIV and human rights, supported by practical cases. They were reminded of the need to always refer to the rules of ethics and deontology of the press in order to avoid the sensational treatment of information related to the HIV issue.
The workshop, which was very enriching, ended with thanks to the journalists who are now committed to producing content that respects human rights.
