Global Media AIDS Initiative and the South African Broadcasting Corporation

From the July/August issue of Global AIDSLink, published by the Global Health Council, Dali Mpofu, Chairman of the Global Media Aids Initiative (GMAI), writes on its founding idea - that "broadcast media working collaboratively can greatly increase both the quantity and quality of HIV/AIDS information available to people living in the most seriously affected regions of the world". In its previous three years, GMAI has worked to coordinate the leadership role of media by bringing together broadcast media and facilitating workshops and summits to exchange ideas on how broadcasters educate and inform their audiences on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment with locally driven media responses.


These collaborations include:

• The African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (ABMP) - ABMP members are dedicating 5 percent of all airtime, approximately one hour every day, to AIDS-related programming and messaging that incorporates HIV themes and information across programming formats, from news to talk shows to dramatic programming.
• The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP) - CBMP partnered with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Cricket Council to launch the multi-year, youth-positive campaign - LIVE UP: Love! Protect! Respect! and the World Cup opening match, linking HIV prevention with youth, health, sport and regional pride.
• The Russian Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS - More than 40 competing broadcasters have joined together in historic partnerships with local non-governmental (NGOs) and government agencies to launch a media campaign called StopSPID (Stop AIDS).
• An Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) campaign, Think Positive: The Asian Face of HIV/AIDS created short-form programmes on HIV/AIDS working with MTV Networks International, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
• Latin American partnerships of Brazil’s TV Globo, MTV International, and UNICEF launched an effort to reach hundreds of millions of people in the region.

According to the author, statistical evidence shows increased television penetration globally, particularly in China, India, and South Africa. Radio, internet, and cellphone text messaging are increasingly useful means of delivering messages, as stated here. Young people are a focus of specifically designed HIV/AIDS messaging for creative connection in language that relates to youth and reflects their realities. Messages not only inform for treatment and prevention, but also encourage acceptance of those living with HIV.

GMAI encourages participatory discussion in communities of "issues relating to healthy sexuality, gender equality, drug use, and stigma and discrimination against people living with or perceived to be at risk for HIV." A central strategy is reliance on media allies including "MTV International, for example,... which produces [public service announcements] PSAs and long-form programming made available rightsfree to all GMAI members, as well as to more than 140 MTV channels worldwide. And in the [United States] U.S., [Home Box Office network] HBO, the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) and the Kaiser Family Foundation are working together to produce a new series of spots featuring prominent African Americans and leading NBA basketball players, designed to encourage young people to get tested for HIV....GMAI’s objective remains focused on one key goal: building a bigger stronger and more collaborative partnership that harnesses the power and energy of the broadcast media, to help put an end to this epidemic."

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