Deadline for Health: The Media’s Response to Covering HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria in Africa
Conclusion

There is a critical need for relevant and meaningful information on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in the mass media but the media must be sufficiently resourced to ensure that its journalists are educated in cross disciplines, technically skilled and committed to serving the public. Many of the participants also recommended formal networks of media, nongovernmental organizations and public authorities to enhance the media’s ability to cover public health issues effectively.

The challenge for media houses is to recognize the problems posed by HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, to understand the threat these diseases pose to the socioeconomic and political well-being of a country and to harness their resources to do what media does best – communicate with people. In the words of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, HIV/AIDS is far more than a health crisis, “it is a threat to development itself.” By providing accurate information, watchful scrutiny and critical analysis, the media can make a difference to the societies it serves.