THE Ministry of Health's National HIV/STI Control Programme on Thursday formally forged a media alliance and launched a campaign to remove the stigma associated with the HIV/AIDS virus.

Dubbed "Live Positive", the campaign will essentially seek to create a more supportive environment for people living with HIV/AIDS -- more commonly known as PLWA.

"The slogan recognises that persons who are living with the virus are entitled to live in a positive environment," Lovelette Byfield, behaviour change communication specialist in the ministry, explained.

This is primarily the message that the health ministry wants to get out through its partnership with the media.

The Media Alliance for HIV Prevention, which has in fact been in effect for nearly a year, comprises media managers from the island's national newspapers, radio and television stations.

These players are expected to support the ministry's campaign -- which began soon after the launch -- by bringing specially designed messages to the general population through television, print and radio advertisements. These advertisements, the ministry said, will feature personalities from the media, entertainment, and business fraternities.

But the programme will not, on its own, result in a behavioural change against PLWAs among the general public, Byfield argued.

"It will complement the other targeted approaches being undertaken in the community, schools, workplaces and other settings," she explained.

However, Byfield added that the media campaign represents a most "effective strategy in the prevention of HIV/AIDS, since a survey done in 2000 revealed that as much as 83 per cent of Jamaicans get information on the disease through the media".

The number of reported AIDS cases has been rising steadily in recent years, with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimating that as many as 25,000 Jamaicans are living with the disease.

However, the health ministry's head for the Epidemiology and AIDS Unit, Dr Peter Figueroa, said the number of reported cases since the start of the epidemic stands at 7,027 -- 63 per cent of whom have already died.

There were 989 reported new cases in 2002 -- 50 cases more than that reported in 2001. Of the total figure, 580 were males and 409, females.

Meanwhile, among those developing the disease in 2002 were 81 children, bringing to 559 the total number of children with AIDS since the start of the epidemic.

But these figures, according to Dr Figueroa, represent only a tip of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the island.

"Many more persons who feel and look perfectly well are HIV infected, but they do not know it; and we cannot tell by looking," he said.

He added that, persons with AIDS in Jamaica come from "all social classes, occupations and walks of life".

"This includes professionals, businessmen, casual workers, tradesman, self-employed persons, vendors, farmers, security workers, drivers, housewives and others," he said. "Anyone who is sexually active is at risk of becoming infected unless a condom is used every time during sex."

Speaking for the health minister, chief medical officer, Dr Barry Wint, called on church, school and business heads to include stigma reduction activities in their regular agenda.

"Our journey to remove stigma and discrimination, which are major obstacles to HIV/AIDS prevention efforts is not an overnight one," he said.

"Leaders can begin or continue their journey now by joining their media counterparts in supporting anti-discrimination campaigns and in encouraging their employees and associates to treat all persons living with HIV and AIDS as they would desire to be treated."

Also addressing the launch was Gleaner chairman, Oliver Clarke, who encouraged business leaders to develop or improve programmes to educate their staff about the disease.

Similar sentiments were expressed by CVM-TV's general manager, Angela Patterson, who noted that, though the issue tends to have sombre overtones, much can be done to improve the lives of PWLAs.

"We have to see ourselves [the media] as a corporate body with a responsibility to ensure this," she remarked.

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