Journalists urged to embrace public health perspective in LGBTQI reporting

The Diversity Forum, a coalition of nine organizations focused on human rights, specifically advocating for key populations, has called on the media to broaden their reporting on the LGBTQI community beyond human rights to include public health perspectives.

Dunker Kamba, the national coordinator of the forum, made this appeal in Mzuzu during a media training session on issues affecting key populations.

Despite being recognized in the National HIV Strategic Plan, the LGBTQI community, particularly men who have sex with men and transgender continue facing societal acceptance challenges, hindering their access to public health services, thus contributing to high HIV prevalence rates among them.

According to the Malawi HIV Fact Sheet, a product of the National AIDS Commission (NAC), the prevalence rate among men who have sex with men is 12.8 percent and 13.8 for transgender. This is higher than the nationwide prevalence rate, which is 7.1 percent.

Speaking during the training, Kamba stressed the need to address LGBTQI issues from a public health angle, emphasizing that overlooking this will potentially ruin the country’s efforts to achieve the global target of ending HIV as a public health concern by 2030.

“We need to discuss LGBTQI issues not only from a human rights perspective but also from a public health perspective. First and foremost, they deserve respect in our democratic society. Secondly, from a public health standpoint, with a high prevalence among men who have sex with men and transgender, targeted health services are essential.

“The media has a bigger role in driving this narrative. We have discovered that many people do not understand these issues, they only look at the human rights perspective. But, since people have trust in the media, there is need to report positively and objectively so that the message is well understood,” Kamba said.

Kamba acknowledged the ongoing acceptance challenges of the LGBTQI community by the public but expressed optimism about the progress in HIV prevention programs that include the LGBTQI community.

He noted that the inclusion of key populations in the National HIV Strategic Plan is a positive step, indicating governmental recognition and efforts to support these groups as efforts continue to address acceptance challenges.

“Achieving acceptance is a gradual process requiring extensive awareness efforts by civil society and various stakeholders to ensure that key populations in Malawi are appropriately targeted with HIV prevention programs,” Kamba said.