Journalists form association to fight AIDS
-Charlene Smith, South Africa
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[Cross-posted from eleven10 agenda eforum]

By Media Watch Staff Reporter
May 2003

A Group of youthful journalists concerned with the unabated spread of
HIV/AIDS in the country has come together and formed an association. The
Association of Journalists Against AIDS in Tanzania (AJAAT) has 13 founder
members, all in their twenties and early thirties, and was registered by
the Registrar of Societies on March 24 this year.

AJJT is led by Chairman, Simon Kivamwo of Sunday Observer, Secretary
General, Leah Samike of Mwananchi, while the kitty is in the hands of
Treasurer, Perege Gumbo of Financial Times.

Speaking to Media Watch recently, the AJAAT Chairman said: "the priority
objective of the association is to step up, through writing, the already
existing campaign for people to abstain from wanton and unsafe sex.

He said, AJAAT would concern itself with "concerted journalistic efforts
to ensure behavioural change in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Said Kivamwo "AJAAT is open to all local and foreign journalists
practicing in Tanzania who have committed themselves to the battle against
the pandemic, people who realize their responsibility as journalists to
help save our nation from this disaster which has already terrorized all
of us,".
He added that AJAAT would also play a networking role, bringing together
journalists aspiring to join a world-wide campaign against HIV/AIDS.

The association has also as an objective the promotion of professional
debate on matters related to the pandemic. If each and everything goes as
planned, AJAAT will institute an award of excellence in HIV/AIDS coverage.
This will be given to individual journalists," said Kivamwo.

The chairman said the association would work with, and suppliment through
publicity, efforts by such organizations like the Tanzania Commission for
AIDS (TACAIDS), the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), UNAIDS as well
as other local and international groups and indiviuals working against
HIV/AIDS.

Forwarded by Charlene Smith
Email:[email protected]

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A posting from AF-AIDS ([email protected])

AF-AIDS is the regional forum on HIV/AIDS in Africa, moderated by the Health & Development Networks Moderation Team (HDN, www.hdnet.org) with technical support from Health Systems Trust (HST) on behalf of the AF-AIDS Policy and Steering Committee (HST, HDN & SAfAIDS) The views expressed in this forum do not necessarily reflect those of HDN, HST or SAfAIDS.

Reproduction welcomed provided source is cited as follows:

Copyright AF-AIDS 2002
[Internet: http://archives.healthdev.net/af-aids Email: [email protected]">