BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – With eyes on promoting awareness and drawing greater attention to HIV/AIDS-related matters, the Cross River State Agency for the Control of AIDS (CR-SACA) has inaugurated a 13 member Media Advocacy Action Committee
According to Deputy Director, South South Zone of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Uduak Daniels, the HIV & AIDS media advocacy platform is meant to consolidate on the value of institutional partnerships and effective collaboration with media practitioners/professionals.
Speaking at the Committee’s virtual inauguration recently, Dr Daniels said the media advocacy think tank aims at ensuring media practitioners are significantly involved in the forefront of HIV/AIDS education, social mobilization and advocacy.
He explained that the focus is on achieving sustainable behaviour and social change in the South-South zone.
Inaugurating the Cross River State Media Advocacy Action Committee, Director General of Cross River-SACA, Dr Etcheri-Ella Ansa said the group is expected to enhance awareness creation and attract required attention to issues of HIV/AIDS across the State.
Furthermore, she said the team would focus on educating the public about the reason to fight stigmatization; emboldening the masses to know their status; encouraging infected persons to take drugs that reduce the viral load and also helping to check mother to child transmission
In his goodwill message, the State Team Lead of Reaching Impact, Saturation and Epidemic Control (RISE) Project Nigeria, Mr Donald Akpenna, pledged support for CR-SACA.
He said the organization is fully behind the establishment of HIV Media Advocacy Team in Cross River State, adding that as one of the Implementing Partners, RISE is proud to be associated with the State Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA).
Promising to effectively engage the Media Advocacy team towards achieving greater results in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the State, Akpenna said; ”I bring you greetings from RISE Project Nigeria. We are proud to be associated with Cross River state HIV Response and in particular, the HIV Media Advocacy Team.
“We wish to use this medium to express gratitude to the Cross River State Government for supporting our implementation of comprehensive HIV care and treatment services in the state.”
For him, the HIV Media and Advocacy platform presents one such avenue that “strengthens the struggle towards HIV Epidemic Control which is our mandate and we felicitate with CRSACA for this beautiful initiative.”
In her intervention, Dr Grace Essien of the Centre for Clinical Care and Clinical Research, Nigeria (CCCRN), said aside from enrolling about 46,638 beneficiaries into the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme, her organization has also supported Cross River State in translating the anti-stigma Law into Efik language, with the official handling over of printed copies of translated work coming up soon.
Dr Essien assured CR-SACA that CCCRN, as a non-profit organization, will continue to promote best practices in health care delivery; medical training; and research using locally-adapted models of health systems strengthening in the State and beyond.
The Media Advocacy Committee, comprising thorough-bred professionals, is ably led by Roseline Irek, Director of Orientation at the Ministry of Information and Orientation.
Other members include Benson White of News Agency of Nigeria; Oka Ibor of Nigerian Chronicle; Frank Odey of Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC); Odey Alenyor of NTA 9, Iwara Iwara of Hit FM and Publisher of Calitown.com; and Kingsley Agim, Publisher of Cross River Mirror who will serve as the Committee’s Secretary.
Also in the team are FAD FM’s Tina Akpeke; Efio-Ita Nyok of Negroid Haven, an online blog; Joshua of Sparkling FM; Maria Ewa of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); Helen Brand of CORRECT FM; Frank Ulom, Editor-In-Chief of PARADISE News; and Ofem Jesam, an online media expert.
The Media Advocacy team has already hit the ground running with its maiden meeting to brainstorm ahead of this year’s World AIDS Day.
