TB and HIV - What the Papers Aren’t Saying

This 16-page report on the need to enhance media coverage of tuberculosis (TB) argues that increasing mass media coverage of TB is crucial in helping to tackle the disease. Media coverage is one of the main ways people receive health information, and media coverage keeps TB on the public agenda so that health policymakers take notice. The paper is based on findings from a 2006 content analysis of print media in 12 countries which found little TB coverage in local or national print media, despite the fact that these countries rank among the highest TB burden countries in the world. The authors argue that the main reasons behind the lack of coverage are the health sector’s failure to engage with journalists adequately and the media’s unwillingness to prioritise health stories, despite TB being the leading cause of death among people living with HIV.

The paper focuses on why and how to support health practitioners, TB programmers, policymakers, media professionals and people affected by TB to engage more effectively with the media so that the media can, in turn, respond to critical public health concerns. It states that, since TB has not only escalated in case numbers, but also emerged in increasingly more drug-resistant forms - Multi-drug Resistant (MDR-TB) to Extensive Drug Resistant (XDR-TB) - there has been an international response to increase funding, detection, and care - attempting to raise detection to a 70% goal from 60% in 2005. To that end, donor support - such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria - has increased, according to this document, by US$500 million since 2002; and collaborative platforms like the Stop TB Partnership have created networks of organisations and individuals from multiple sectors of society.

However, according to Public Health Watch, few mechanisms exist to include public participation in TB policy. This article promotes the media as the stimulus for developing these mechanisms, based on research showing that media involvement can lead to funding increases and could help satisfy the five-fold increase in funding needed - as long as the media does not spread fear, reinforce stigma, or undermine efforts with inaccurate reporting. In short, there is a need for reporting in accessible language drawing from diverse and accurate information, providing a platform for voices of those affected by TB, and investigating wider social and political determinants related to TB.

According to this document, the Panos content analysis study found one common feature of print media coverage of TB: it is minimal or non-existent. The paper reviews results of its analysis in Jamaica, Haiti, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, and the United States. Some characteristics of the reporting were: few articles looked explicitly at TB or included interviews with someone affected by TB as a source of information; reproting was event-driven, not sustained throughout the year; and almost none of the articles went beyond basic descriptions of TB to explore the links between TB, poverty, vulnerability and other socio-economic factors
influencing health and access to healthcare.

Key obstacles to effective reporting on TB and other health issues are the decline in the diversity of programming - especially coverage of social issues and language-diverse accessibility, and lack of support (training, information access, and policy) for journalists to generate effective health-related stories.

For overcoming these obstacles, the paper includes practical suggestions from successful initiatives:

• A fellowship programme for print journalists and photojournalists in high TB burden countries, from Panos and the Stop TB Partnerships, includes a regional training workshop on TB and its wider context, 'hands-on' training, travel funding, access to reference material and expert guidance, and network contacts to strengthen linkages with key stakeholders.
• RESULTS Educational Fund and its ACTION project on TB work to develop the communication skills of TB programmers and activists by, for example, producing a handout that includes insights into working with the media, promotes 10 days when TB should be particularly newsworthy, teaches tips for preparing press
  releases and interviews, and gives ideas for photo opportunities. They facilitate conference calls, as a substitute for press conferences, among journalists and TB specialists. These calls are often focused on "breaking news," linking speakers to reporters to publicise upcoming events, or giving editorial writers background for opinion pieces.
• Not highlighted in the paper due to space constraints, but noted as having successful strategies are BRAC in Bangladesh and TB Alert of the United Kingdom.

The paper concludes by enumerating the following strategic points for moving forward:

1. Capacity development support for those working on TB to successfully engage the media, including making connection to stakeholder networks, language translation support, telephone access to journalists, and, optimally, communications officers who take on information generation and building networks.
2. Long-term capacity development initiatives for media professionals to stimulate interest in health issues and facilitate access to interesting, reliable and up-to-date story material at all levels of journalism from journalism schools to senior management.
3. Incentives for high burden countries, such as fellowships and sponsorship, and dedicated health news agencies
4. Ethical guidelines to promote responsible and non-stigmatised journalism.
5. Greater investment to fund communication development on TB control.