NAC calls for more awareness on HIV and AIDS
The National Aids Commission (NAC) has urged journalists in the country to take special interest in raising awareness on the importance of HIV testing and adherence to treatment.
NAC’s HIV Prevention and Management Officer, Francis Mabedi, made the call on Monday at Grand Palace Hotel in Mzuzu.
He was speaking to journalists belonging to Nyika Media Club (NMC) during an orientation on HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Management) Act of 2018.
“The aim of this gathering was to have media practitioners acquainted with the details on what the law contains in as far as regulating the HIV and AIDS is concerned in Malawi. There are some sections of the society that are not aware of this piece of law and this is where the media should come in to join hands with us as a commission,” remarked Mabedi.
During the orientation, NAC also disclosed that currently Malawi has close to one million people who are living with HIV and that the country is registering 15,630 new cases per year. Close to 52,000 children between 0 and 14 years are living with HIV.
Vice Chairperson for the club, Alepher Kasongo, said the workshop was very instrumental in keeping journalists aware of the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Management) Act of 2018.
“As journalists we really need to be updated and equipped with knowledge. We are supposed to be aware of the HIV and AIDS Act of 2018 and utilise it because it an offence to spread information that is unlawful and so we are supposed to have facts, know the acts and some other regulations pertaining to HIV and AIDS,” she said.
Nyika Media Club is a grouping of journalists from different media institutions in the northern region of Malawi.
