UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

June 1, 2008

Advocacy through journalism

A child living with HIV can face many challenges.  There are day to day issues associated with living with the virus. Many things that people, who are not infected, rarely or never have to think about. Things like taking medication everyday, watching what you eat and wondering what reactions you will get from those who will find out about your HIV infection.

The more we can reduce the negative impact of these challenges, the better the quality of life for the children affected.  UNICEF and its partner, the PANOS Institute, are working to improve the quality of life of children living with HIV in Jamaica by training these children themselves as advocates.

The chief method of advocacy is through journalism. The young people are trained to tell their stories about the struggles and the triumphs in their own lives.  They are also given advocacy skills and opportunities to call on leaders in government and civil society for improvements in matters that affect their lives and those of their families.

A few months ago, the group of youth-journalists conducted a letter writing campaign which sought to bring to public attention some of the issues affecting their lives. The letters, which were hand delivered to public officials, including the Minister of Health, the head of the Child Development Agency and the Prime Minister, highlighted the challenges presented by the prevailing environment of stigma and discrimination in communities, health facilities and schools; the need for improvement of coping and parenting skills among adults living with HIV; ensuring better treatment at work for people living with HIV and improving social security programmes for poor families affected by the epidemic. These letters were also printed in the main daily newspaper so that the general public could become more aware of the issues faced by the children.

This group of gifted young writers have now developed and disseminated a newsletter.  The newsletter brings even more focus on matters that are important to them and showcases their creativity through poetry and art.  Each week they are taught new skills by experienced working journalists and are now in the process of creating a documentary on the life of a child living with HIV in Jamaica.

UNICEF is proud to facilitate the expansion of opportunities for these young people. Through the kind contribution of our donors, these young people are now acquiring skills that will improve their employability and increase the cadre of powerful advocates that will see to the implementation of necessary improvements for people living with HIV. Your continued support is necessary to the continuation of the programme and our ability to positively impact even more young people living with and affected by HIV.