Report of MEDIAIDS Impact Assessment in Northeast India

This 109-page report examines the strategies underpinning the 2-year-long MEDIAIDS project, which was carried out in India with funding from the European Union (EU) and Department for International Development Programme Management Office (DFID-PMO) India. This project centrally addressed issues of ethics and stereotypes related to HIV and AIDS in the context of the media, with - in the second year - a focus on 7 states in the remote and underserved northeastern region of India. The project, which is described in detail in this report, included activities to sensitise radio and television journalists, as well as filmmakers, about HIV/AIDS programming. The goal was to spark the production of documentaries and other media informed by an ethical sensitivity, high-quality research, and cultural understanding.

The Project Manager, who is affiliated with the Foundation for Responsible Media (formedia), writes here that the MEDIAIDS International Meet in November 2006 helped shape the impact assessment tour developed in order to investigate how a media agenda for a collective response could be taken forward, to disseminate information to those who did not have full details of the MEDIAIDS project, and to develop a synergetic working relationship of the network developed through MEDIAIDS activities. Specific objectives included gaining insight into the dynamics of the print and electronic media, especially radio (All India Radio), and to explore the existent (or non-existent) relationships between media, people living with HIV (PLHIV), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), State AIDS Control Societies (SACS), and the media-related department (Directorate of Information & Public Relations - DIPR). The larger goal was to gather information and a situational context that could perhaps be of value to national / international, governmental / non-governmental decision-makers for future HIV/AIDS-related policies for northeast India, especially concerning communication.

The methodology was a Rapid Appraisal, as defined by the World Bank resource document entitled "Monitoring & Evaluation: Some Tools, Methods & Approaches". In short, organisers undertook non-directive interviewing of key informants and focus groups. Here are some selected findings of this research, excerpted from the report:

PLHIV

"In spite of exposure to capacity building in public speaking and maybe even communication skills, most people Living with HIV (PLHIV) in northeast India are still lacking in confidence and expression. The point to note is that they are aware of it and want to overcome the weakness. They are convinced that powerful communication skills will help them to advocate better for the cause and the community. By and large, PLHIV are still cynical about the media....Most PLHIV are keener to have training in television presence, precisely for facing the camera. Few seem to understand the value of radio in regions like the northeast, where access by road often limits advocacy efforts and programmes....There is a big gap between what a journalist asks and what a PLHIV hears and answers. If a journalist is sensitive, s/he may repeatedly re-phrase the question till it is understood correctly....Across the board, PLHIV have two big complaints about media persons. First, that PLHIV are repeatedly misquoted and this often complicates issues of stigma & discrimination. Second, media persons do not share the articles / programmes before publication / broadcast / telecast....Obviously the attempts at building bridges between PLHIV and the media have still not had an impact in creating trustworthy, dependable, credible relationships between the two...

SACS-IEC

It is mandatory for all the State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) to have an official in charge of information-education-communication (IEC). These officials have the portfolio to handle communication work related to behaviour change and project implementation....Reporting of IEC activities by SACS is an art that has been mastered over the years and data on paper looks impressive....One factor that affects innovative approaches in IEC at SACS is that IEC officials are constantly invited for training programmes outside their state, not all of which are highly professional or practical....The lack of intensive long-term practical communication training programmes at the state -level has led to a vacuum of local response to local issues in locally acceptable forms...

NGOs
In spite of being engaged in almost every aspect of the HIV & AIDS sector, NGOs in northeast India are in grave need of capacity-building, especially for communication....NGOs speak in language and terms that are not easily understood either by journalists or listeners / viewers....Unlike PLHIV, NGOs seem to have a greater understanding of the power of radio for advocacy in a region like northeast India. A few of them have been using radio or participating in radio programmes for dissemination and advocacy in innovative and successful ways. The outputs may not be considered highly professional but they emanate from and reach out to the local ethos. So, even in its raw form, the programmes have had impact. While NGOs are not fully aware of their limitations in communication skills...[t]hey understand the importance of the role of the media in combating HIV & AIDS and would like to see it happen....They are in need of training that enables them to develop and implement media strategies....Since the scenario is different for each state, capacity building needs to be oriented within the local context and conducted through intensive practical training...

PRINT MEDIA
...The region has a strong print tradition in innumerable languages....The newspapers in northeast India are a strange mix of operating under political / social pressure and serving the public interest....The result is a unique blend of original local reporting, ‘development’ stories emanating from government offices (routed via the offices of the directorates of information - DIPR) and international stories picked up from the internet....Many young journalists are dedicated to value-based, watchdog journalism that concerns the interests of the citizen and general public....Many would be happy if some new system of revenue-earning allows them to work more freely and travel for stories to areas where they presently cannot, due to financial constraints....Among these journalists, many have made HIV & AIDS issues a personal crusade, even though they lack information on latest surveys and related data. Apart from awareness-raising and highlighting prevention, they also focus on the non-performance of governmental and non-governmental organizations...

AIR
In comparison to print and television, the official broadcaster, All India Radio AIR), in northeast India, plays a major role in the developmental sector. Attention to programming on HIV & AIDS is high in some states and low in others. This is directly linked to who heads the radio station and the level of acceptance or denial regarding HIV & AIDS in the state. Radio programmers in northeast [India] are functioning with poor infrastructure facilities and very dated equipment. While they conceptually function as professionals, this does not necessarily translate into high-grade professional practice in practical terms. Radio is also burdened with other complexities that affect the vibrant potential of AIR....[For example,] [s]ome stations broadcast programmes in anything between six to ten dialects....Young programmers are keen to make a shift to new styles and formats and are keen to be trained to match international standards....In some states, HIV & AIDS issues have been dealt with on live phone-in programmes. Apart from this, the usual formats for HIV & AIDS have been straight talks, panel discussions and radio jingles. Extensive practical training for full sensitization and innovative programming on HIV & AIDS issues is needed in the northeast. At present, even those who have undergone some form of sensitization still slip into unethical situations, which is a matter of worry and concern especially to PLHIV...

DIPR
The office of the Directorate of Information & Public Relation (DIPR)...could be the best instruments for propaganda used by all the local politicians or function as a platform that enables journalists to have access to critical information in all sectors. [However,] [i]n the states where there is denial about HIV & AIDS, the office of the DIPR is not playing any role as yet to create an environment of awareness and debate. In other states there is enough willingness to play an instrumental role in catalyzing efforts of advocacy. The DIPR office has the potential to bring PLHIV, NGOs, SACS and the media together....In some states of northeast India, a daily newspaper would have blank pages but for the feed that they receive from the DIPR office....It is easy to see that local State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) can use this platform for better advocacy of HIV & AIDS issues. PLHIV and NGOs need to be encouraged to send in regular articles that can go out on the DIPR feed to newspapers. Regular press conferences by SACS or other organisations can also fulfil the demand of local journalists for latest statistics and information..."

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