The South-South coordinator of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Uduak Daniel has inaugurated the Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA) media Advocacy Response team in Benin City for proper dessemination of information on the prevention and control of the epidemic.

Inaugurating the media Advocacy Response team, Dr. Uduak said the findings from Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) conducted in 2018 and People Living with HIV (PLHIV) spectrum estimates shows that states within the South-South geopolitical zone are considered high prevalence with Akwa-Ibom and Rivers states having 5.5% of 178.051 and 3.8% of 197.893 respectively.

She further revealed that other states like Cross River has 2.0% of 37.493; Edo 1.9 of 42.071; Delta 1.9% of 75.381 and Bayelsa 1.9% of 27.091, adding that the South-South zone prevalence with 3.1% is higher than the national prevalence of 1.4%.

She said that the role of the media in the dissemination of accurate information about HIV/AIDS in the fight to end it cannot be overemphasized adding that National Agency for the Control AIDS (NACA), States Agency for the Control ADIS (SACA) and other stakeholders are collaborating to provide HIV/AIDS services in order to achieve the control of the epidemic with effective synergy between all SACAs in Nigeria and the media was required to achieving a low epidemic control.

Against this background, there is the need to meaningfully engage with the media as a critical partners in the fight to finish AIDS in Nigeria, hence, NACA south-south has earlier organized a 3 day skill-building workshop in Asaba, Delta state for media practitioners and other stakeholders from the zone with a charge on members to help in the dissemination of accurate information on effective management, control and prevention of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Part of the expected outcome of the workshop was to strengthen partnership with the media by setting up HIV media advocacy group at the different states levels within the zone.

Therefore the setting up of Edo SACA media advocacy was a strategy to galvanize the power and influence of the media to exert pressure on those whose decisions influence our environment. It is also a strategic use of mass media to advance the agenda on social or public policy initiatives.

It was however also observed at the SACA media advocacy group inauguration that since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, less emphasis have been on the dessemination of information and control of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Government at all levels have placed more attention on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 while that of HIV/AIDS was completely left out simply because it believe COVID-19 is said to be mostly affecting the elderly people irrespective of status in the society and kill faster than AIDS.

As a result of this, media advocacy group is a move towards consolidating on the value of institutional partnerships and collaboration with the mass media to ensure that the media becomes significantly involved in the forefront of HIV/AIDS education, social mobilization and advocacy to bring about sustainable behaviour and social change in the state and south-south zone as a whole.

Other responsibilities of the media group also include media response Think Tank within the HIV/AIDS response in the state; providing media advisory functions to Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) strategies and direction; supporting Edo SACA efforts to advocate for HIV/AIDS related resources-allocation and policy change as well as facilitate and support mobilization of resources for SBCC for addressing HIV concerns in the state.

The media is to also encourage consistent and correct use of male and female condoms and lubricants for aral and virginal sex among FSWs, MSM and PWIDs with all partners. Promote adherence to PrEP for HIV treatment as prevention among MSMs and FSWs

One of the major problems since the inception of the HIV response in Nigeria is that several messages have been developed by different partners (both government and Implementing Partners) in different languages. While these messages have generally sufficed through the years, Key Populations (KP) groups Female Sex Workers (FSW), Men Sex Mem (MSM) and People Who Inject Drugs (PWID), have yet to be meaningfully engaged through Information and Education Communication (IEC) messaging in the fight against HIV in Nigeria.

And the reason why people are not really ready to go for testing and know their health status especially the men despite the much awareness of HIV is as a result of stigmatization in the society but thank God Edo State government was the first states to sign into law to protect against stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The law provide against inhuman treatment by parents, family or guardian who segregate or neglect a person living with HIV/AIDS from other people, denial or refusal of prospective students with HIV/AIDS admissions into schools or dismissal or expulsion of students from school because such student is living with HIV/AIDS.

The law is also to protect the refusal of employment of a person or dismissal from employment of a person who have been confirmed of having contracted HIV/AIDS, refusal by Landlord and landlady to accommodate any person living with HIV among others.

Before the media inuguration, other participants were exposed to modern and basic knowledge in HIVST (HIV-Selftesting) and Pre-prophylasis required in the management, control and prevention of HIV .

“The role and responsibilities of NACA and its respective state agencies in achieving low epidemic control of HIV can only be achieved through effective partnership with the media.

“In the accurate information on the management and control of HIV, media practitioners need to be acquainted with the right information and its usage in order to achieve epidemic control dissemination.

The HIV/AIDS media team were drawn from different chaples of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Edo State and representative of government ministries of Health; Orientation and Communication; Social Development and Gender Issues.