Awakening to this reality changed my attitude towards media coverage on HIV/AIDS. At first, I read the news simply out of curiosity; as such, I treated whatever I read like what it was: just news. However, after meeting someone who would eventually die of AIDS, I began to see HIV/AIDS for what it truly was: a killer. Over the years, I’ve developed the habit of reading newspapers from cover to cover; as a result, I’ve seen so many (if not too many) articles on HIV/AIDS that nowadays, I only read the headlines of the stories. These is because most of the stories affirm that something must be done about HIV/AIDS but end up admitting that only little can and is being done because much needed funding is not available. Nevertheless, HIV/AIDS still does get a lot of media attention.
Here are examples of some of the stories I’ve been reading for years:
“HIV/AIDS Is Still On ‘Rampage’, Ghanaians Advise [sic] to Control Sexual Habits2”— page 6 (boldly written headline). This story is about how some Ghanaians have chosen to remain apathetic to “the massive campaign against HIV/AIDS in the country” due to their “uncontrollable” sexual lifestyles, resulting in increased HIV infections at a very alarming rate.
“Place ban on prostitution3”—page 19 (tucked away in a corner). In this story the, writer, stressing the fact that “legalizing prostitution is wrong… in this era of HIV/AIDS…” makes a passionate appeal for prostitution to be banned.
“Make a difference in fight against AIDS—Theresa Kufuor [Ghana’s First Lady] urges First Ladies of Africa4--page 24 (that is, the centre spread; it’s only story on that page). In this story, Ghana’s First Lady urges her counterparts to “use their positions and influence to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the continent.”
“HIV/AIDS Is Curable, I have found the cure says Dr. Antwi5—page 12 (bold headline)”. To comment a little on this, the said doctor was later forced to retract his claims because even though he had supposedly cured 3 people of HIV, he had no medical proof.