Kathmandu, January 30:

In order to disseminate correct information on the HIV/AIDs related issues and to strengthen the drive against HIV/AIDS, strong coordination is needed between the media persons and the organisation involved in the drive, according to the Media monitoring report: 2062, released here today.

The National Association of PLWHA in Nepal (NAP+N) released the report with the support of the USAID and the Policy Project/Nepal. The report said that the wrong use of words was conveying misleading messages, only adding to the stigmatisation of the victims.

Ujjwal Baral, national coordinator of NAP+N, releasing the report today said that the People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) should be looked upon in a positive light, adding, the media can do a lot in this regard.

The report suggested that the local correspondents be provided with the exact facts and figures on HIV/ AIDS. There is also a need for a directive on the terminologies to be used by the reporters who deal with the HIV/AIDS related issues, it said.

It also recommended regular media monitoring of the HIV/AIDs issues and making the results public. For this, good coordination is needed between the media personnel and the organisations involved, it said.

The report was based on a three-month media monitoring carried out in five development regions starting in April, 2005. According to the report, a total of 106 HIV/AIDs related articles were either printed or aired in the media during the period.