Welcome to the second Information Update of the African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS. This historic partnership was forged at a top-level summit of broadcast executives from 20 African countries meeting at the Old Fort, Johannesburg in early October 2005.

The Steering Committee nominated at the Old Fort Summit will convene for its first face-to-face meeting in Johannesburg on February 21, 2006. Under the chair of SABC Chief Operating Officer, Solly Mokoetle, the Steering Committee will develop plans to give effect to the goals and objectives of the Partnership, including a creative programming workshop scheduled for July in Maputo (more information on this event will be included in the next Information Update). Another priority for the Steering Committee will be consideration of efforts to expand the existing membership in the Partnership to other African broadcast companies.

We are pleased to include information on a new Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Journalism. Established by the Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with CNN International, the new Award will form part of the prestigious annual CNN/MultiChoice African Journalism Awards. Twelve to fifteen journalists in print and electronic media short listed for the HIV Award will be invited to a three-day training program organised by the Kaiser Family Foundation to enhance their health and development reporting skills.

Applications for the Award must be received by March 7th 2006. Entry forms can be found here.

Children are often the worst affected by HIV/AIDS, either because they are born with HIV or because they suffer the consequences of HIV in their family such as chronic poverty, malnutrition and the loss of their parents. Reporting on these hardships and advocating for constructive policy and programmatic responses is a challenge for broadcasters. We are happy to introduce you to a new resource designed to help broadcasters approach these issues more substantively. Click here to learn more.

The African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS was established in response to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) launched in January 2004. For more on the GMAI go to www.unaids.org and www.kff.org.

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