Madalitso Kateta writes on Journalists with HIV, media role in fighting the pandemic

Journalists living with HIV in Malawi have formed the first network of people living with the virus to fight against stigma and discrimination in that country. This was the media's response to HIV/AIDS through the effective participation of journalists living with the disease, the coordinator said.

The Malawi Journalists Living with HIV (MJLHIV) national coordinator, David Kamkwamba, said the initiative will empower the media in the response to the pandemic through experiences of journalists living with the virus.

“In this drive the initiative shall advocate for the mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS through the advocating of development of HIV and AIDS work place policies, implementation and strategies against stigma and discrimination,” he said.

Malawi is one of the countries that still have a high rate of HIV and AIDS based stigma and discrimination.

Although many people in the country have become open to declare their HIV status, the Malawian media has been very mute on the matter with only one journalist, the late Kaulanda Nkosi coming in the open with his HIV status.

However Kamkwamba said the formation of MJLWHIV will foster a change of people’s attitudes towards persons living with the virus. “Specifically MJLWHIV aims at advocating for the rights of people living with HIV that also includes journalists,” he said.

According to Kamkwamba, membership to the organization is open to all practicing Malawian journalists in the print and electronic media.







The media has to lead by example
By Madalitso Kateta

As a journalist reporting HIV and AIDS I have covered many stories of other people that are positively living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

As an inquisitive journalist, questions like. How did you catch the virus?How did it feel like when you were told that you are HIV positive? Andpresently how do you cope up with life now that you are positively living with the virus? These were part of the routine as I interviewed my news sources.

With time, I have now come to understand that we live in a world that may create sorrow when you believe you are enjoying the warm summer of your life.

A world where everybody is supposed to regret somehow. But is it worth regretting when you know the reality of your status?

So, how should I begin this story as it involves my own experiences with HIV and AIDS. Should I start by recounting how I have socialized with a number of members of the opposite sex?
Let me just tell you my story. I recently had the courage to go for an HIV Testing and Counselling session.

I have been on and off quiterecently and it never really occurred to me that the reoccurring illnesseshad been the result of HIV/Aids.

I did not think that I, a person that had so much knowledge on how HIV was transmitted and had written so much on how other people were coping up with life after testing HIV positive, would one day sit down writing a story about how it feels like to live with the virus.

In fact, it now astounds me that I, a person who felt that at first, could noteasily come into terms with the reality of living positively with HIV, have come to accept my present status: I am HIV positive.

Sometimes I laugh at myself when I recall how I used to make fun of how others were suffering from the virus. Yes, I remember that with some of my friends we could laugh at people positively living with the virus.

But the situation changed when I realised that I was a carrier of the virus. I realized that while we as the media have been vocal demanding that our politicians should come into the open declaring their HIV status, we have not lead by example.

Ironically, while it may be true that our friends in the political circles, I am sure,might be highly infected by the virus, the media it self would have been one of the professions that would register more cases if the testing process was to be made mandatory.
I now know how it is heartless to reduce persons living with HIV to their sexuality as they still remain productive citizens needing the same rights to health care and protection as everybody else.

For me, it now sounds illogical for the media to start lobbying that members of the legislator should go for tests and disclose their HIV status while the media itself has been entwined in a cushion of confidentiality.

I am HIV positive myself and, having been one of the journalists that have for a while been reporting on HIV and AIDS, find it absurd that we keep on reporting on ending HIV and AIDS-based stigma and discrimination, while we may have are to blame for some of the stereo typing that have created the problem. Imagine, during my last visit to Blantyre I told one of my close friends in the media, Richard Chirombo that I wanted to come into the open about my HIV status.

It astounded me that Richard, while accepting that declaring one’s HIV status was the only way of ending the problem of HIV and AIDS-based stigma and discrimination, did not support the idea, arguing that as soon as

I did that all my colleagues would segregate me.

I liked Richard's straight forward advice. It actually reflected that asmedia practitioners, we have been doing HIV and AIDS stories to make our bread and butter. We have been in the forefront telling the nation the importance of going for an HIV test and, possibly, disclosing our sero status, yet we have not been ready to do so ourselves.

But why is the media not leading by example, by disclosing the HIV sero status of members within the profession?

Is it that there are no HIV cases within the profession?
Honestly, may be there are many HIV and AIDS cases in the media but we have chosen to remain in the cocoon.

I was surprised myself to see that when the advertisement for membership into the Network of Journalists Living with HIV was floated less than 10 journalists registered.
As a Person Living With HIV, I have discovered how normal life can still go on if you accept your status. You can love (I have a lover) and do your ‘duties’ as you used to do before.

To explicitly end this article, I would urge my fellow media practitioners that are paid up NAMISA members to seriously discuss and emphasize on HIV and AIDS matters on world press freedom day. Remember, we are all vulnerable.