Blessing Ejiofor, a reporter with Spectrum Broadcasting, an independent radio station in Abuja, Nigeria, wants to better inform her listeners about HIV/AIDS. “We must be able to tell our people, educate them, inform them about everything concerning HIV/AIDS and how they can prevent being infected, or living positively if they are infected,” says Ejiofor.

That desire propelled Ejiofor to educate herself about HIV/AIDS by joining 19 other radio journalists from Nigeria for a workshop sponsored by the African Women’s Media Center in Lagos in December. The workshop was designed to help the radio journalists increase their substantive knowledge about HIV/AIDS and also add to their arsenals of production techniques. As a result, Ejiofor and her colleagues will be able to report on a pandemic that has touched many lives in Nigeria. According to the United Nations (UNAIDS), 5.8 percent of the adult population of Nigeria is living with HIV/AIDS.

The AWMC has made it a priority to train women journalists to better cover the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. A similar workshop was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, last June. The Nigeria workshop was held in collaboration with Journalists Against AIDS Nigeria and the International Press Center.

Aulora Stally, a former journalist who is now a media consultant and trainer, led the Nigeria workshop. Stally was also a trainer for the Johannesburg workshop. She says that many participants in her programs come to the workshops with preconceived -- and incorrect -- ideas about HIV/AIDS.

“They were not convinced about HIV causing AIDS. They believed, too, that spiritual beliefs can cause AIDS,” says Stally. These incorrect perceptions, she says, sparked some of the most intense discussions during the program.

In addition to wanting to correct misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, reporters were also interested in how to overcome obstacles they face in trying to report on the issue, says Omololu Falobi of Journalists Against AIDS Nigeria, another trainer for the workshop.

Blessing Ejiofor confirms that Nigerian reporters face obstacles getting enough information to report on HIV/AIDS. “As a reporter, I have so many times encountered difficulties in trying to get information from people living with HIV/AIDS,” she says. “They don’t trust journalists around here, but I don’t blame them because of the stigma that goes along with the disease.”

Program participants learned that one way they could help minimize the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS was to carefully select the language they use in reporting stories about it. “We were making so many mistakes, especially using certain words like 'victims,' 'time bombs,' and orphans," says Ejiofor. She adds that she will immediately try to change the language her station uses when reporting on HIV/AIDS.

Roseline-Ibinola Ogundele, a health correspondent and sub-editor for state-owned Radio Lagos/Eko FM, says she wanted to participate in the training program because of the blame placed on women for the spread of HIV/AIDS. She wants to help overcome the stereotypes associated with the disease and what she calls the “pathetic” way of reporting on it.

“I should be able to speak with people in order to reinforce developmental issues rather than reporting statistics most of the time. …I have been empowered to know how to actually go about … ensuring that HIV/AIDS stories are given priority,” says Ogundele.

The workshops included information sessions with experts on HIV/AIDS, including doctors and representatives from organizations working on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. Then participants were sent out to conduct interviews and to produce radio programs that they could take back to their radio stations and put on the air.

For many, these field trips were the most difficult part of the workshop. “The greatest challenge I had in this workshop was the physical contact with those living with HIV/AIDS,” says Boma Nwuke, principal editor and reporter of News Bulletin at Radio Rivers, a state-owned station.

“I have attended workshops on AIDS, but not any as challenging and enduring as the one organized by the AWMC,” she adds, saying that she gained skills that will help her to try and change the way her radio station reports on the pandemic.

“The moment I go back, we will have a new radio station,” says Nwuke. “I am going to become one of the key players [in the fight against HIV/AIDS] of the station. There is a lot I can do to make sure that this disease is brought under control.”

The Nigeria workshop on covering HIV/AIDS was funded by ChevronTexaco Corporation.