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

Human Development Index* rank: 156 out of a total of 175 countries.
Adult literacy rate: 38.3 percent (UNDP 2001)
GDP per capita: $1,500 (UNDP 2001)
Life expectancy at birth: 52.3 years (UNDP 2001)
Government expenditure on health as percentage of total general government expenditure: 12.9 percent (WHO 2002)
HIV/AIDS prevalence in the adult population (15-49 years): 0.8 percent (UNAIDS 2004)
Orphans due to AIDS: 17,000 (UNAIDS 2004)
Population size: 10 million
Print media surveyed:
Le Soleil (state-owned, daily)
Sud Quotidien (privately owned, daily)

Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960. Over the past decade it has enjoyed a healthy tradition of independence and media freedom within the print media and, more recently, on the airwaves. In Senegal, there are 15 dailies, 19 periodicals, about 15 FM radio stations and some 50 community radio stations. However, the state retains control of television, with just one national broadcaster, Radio Television Senegalese (RTS), permitted on air.

Two newspapers were analyzed for this study: Le Soleil, a state-owned daily with a circulation of 30,000, and Sud Quotidien, a privately owned daily with a circulation of 15,000. About six issues per month (72 in all) of each paper in 2002 were examined. As in most of the other countries surveyed, political and sports news dominate the media, and little attention is paid to public health issues. In Le Soleil only 4 percent of all articles analyzed concerned public health; 27 percent of those articles were about HIV/AIDS and 6 percent about malaria. In Sud Quotidien less than 2 percent of the articles analyzed were health related; about 15 percent of those were about HIV/AIDS, 6 percent were about malaria. The figures for TB were not broken out.

The media is seen largely as a communication tool—to dispel ignorance and inform people in a language they can understand. Senegalese journalists interviewed for this report credited the media with helping inform society about HIV/AIDS and succeeding in “lifting the religious taboo” on talking about sex and HIV. However, respondents who worked in the health field criticized the media for sensational reporting, for failing to prioritize health issues and for allowing political news to take precedence over social issues.

Health policy makers identified the need for poverty to be seen as a “high risk factor” and for improved coverage of a number of health issues including AIDS, cancer, diabetes, yellow fever, TB and malaria. They also pointed out that TB was the only disease treated free of charge in Senegal and yet the media had failed to communicate this to the public.

When it comes to improving the quality and quantity of health coverage in Senegal, respondents said the recurring challenges are an acute shortage of resources and a lack of specialized journalists. Reporters do not provide an integrated approach to developmental issues, such as poverty, illiteracy and other social factors. Coverage is usually in response to readers’ interest in understanding preventive measures and how they can take better care of themselves. Where resources might be more plentiful in the privately owned press, interviewees said that the commercial imperative there prevents editors from assigning significant space to health issues. Where health is covered, respondents said that all too often it was sensationalized.

Journalists surveyed for this study said that incentives or sponsorships to encourage better health coverage would make a difference. Certain agencies promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS have run workshops to educate journalists and encourage attendance through a “per diem” allowance. In a poor economy, financial incentives can play an important role in motivating journalists, but they also mean that journalists may take part in training workshops for financial reward rather than to further their skills and knowledge.

Respondents noted that the national daily Le Soleil is one of the rare publications to have a daily “population and health” page. The high standard of health coverage in Le Soleil may be attributed to the real resources devoted to the health page: a health desk run by a health editor and a team of four to five reporters work on these pages -- a commitment that other newspapers either cannot or will not make. Nonetheless, the commitment of the individual reporter is also a factor in getting stories published. As a journalist at Le Soleil explained, “When I come with my article about malaria, I have to fight to convince the others -- and it’s important to say that the tax on impregnated mosquito nets has been removed.”

There was much discussion about the need to target information specifically to women, especially in the rural areas where 60 percent of Senegalese women live. However, it was noted that the sensitivities of addressing women are complicated by religious and cultural practices as well as their socioeconomic status.

Mostly, it was the fear of illness and the need for the media to provide relevant, practical advice to the public that was underscored in discussions among journalists, health professionals, policymakers and members of the public in Senegal. To that end, there was widespread enthusiasm for the creation of a network bringing together the media, nongovernmental organizations and public authorities to build relations between these groups and to enhance the media’s ability to cover public health issues.