Show Hosted By People Living With HIV Launched

First Nationwide Radio Show Hosted By People Living With HIV Launched

--UNDP Supports ‘Positive Talks’ Changing Attitudes On HIV

14 January, Beijing --- “Positive Talks”, China’s first nationwide radio program run by HIV positive people, will soon hit the airwaves on China National Radio (CNR). Co-hosted by professional radio personalities and people living with HIV (PLHIV), the radio show is hoped to become a unique media platform where HIV positive people can help each other in living “positively” while raising public awareness on the issue and reducing stigma associated with the epidemic.

The radio show is jointly produced by CNR, the country’s largest audio network, with an estimated national audience of 300 million (in over 60 cities), and Marie Stopes International China. It is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE). Starting from Saturday, 16 January, the program will be broadcast on CNR2 from 21:00-22:00 every Saturday for a year and will also be available online at finance.cnr.cn and gongyi.sohu.com. Featuring top HIV/AIDS experts, PLHIV guests and listener participation, the radio-show aims to empower and support the people living with HIV act as effective policy advocates and peer educators and give ‘positive talks’ on HIV-related advocacy, prevention, care and awareness activities.

Ma Binjun, an HIV patient and one of the hosts of the radio program, said: ”I hope that this program can help people like me as much as possible, and inspire those living with the virus to accept their status and ‘live positively”. Through interaction with the audience on air, the show will provide a concrete opportunity for those directly affected to speak about their experience and show the human side of HIV/AIDS.”

“I truly believe that this program will be an important milestone in the combat against the epidemic, since the media plays such a powerful role in changing people’s mindset and attitude,” said Subinay Nandy, Country Director of UNDP China. “Equally important, it will also serve as a multi-sector mechanism to help explore suitable public advocacy models and strategies.”

“’Positive Talk’ opens up a bigger and more suitable platform for our volunteers to hold more face-to-face, open-hearted discussions and interactions with the general public on the topic of AIDS,” said Wu Chen, Team Development & Administration Manager of MSIC. “We believe that through this platform, the public will not only gain more knowledge on AIDS prevention, but will also develop mutual tolerance, understanding and respect for people living with HIV.”

Guests who participated in the launch event included representatives from government agencies, other UN agencies including UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO, non-governmental organizations, international societies, enterprise and the media. Renowned Chinese actor and China’s AIDS ambassador, Mr. Pu Cunxin was also present at the event.

Background:

The latest estimation shows that at the end of 2009, 740,000 people are living with HIV in China. The epidemic is spreading from high-risk groups to the general population, as more than 70 percent of new infections were through sexual transmission in year 2009. However, based on the results of a survey done recently on AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, behavior and practices, a relatively low level of knowledge about AIDS persists among the general population in China. About half of those surveyed still believe that mosquito bites can cause HIV transmission, at least one fifth are not willing to use a condom with a new partner, and almost one third thought people with HIV/AIDS deserved their disease because of their sexual behavior or drug abuse. This low level of knowledge correlates with a high level of discrimination against PLHIV. Fear of discrimination often prevents people from accessing testing services, seeking treatment for AIDS-related illnesses, and from disclosing their HIV-status to their families and friends. This indicates the significant need to improve the dissemination of information on HIV/AIDS through innovative and effective approaches.

ENDS

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