Inter Press Service - September 16, 2003
Sonny Inbaraj

She will play a role in a documentary film addressing the issues of stigma and discrimination, which NGOS say are the greatest hindrances in their efforts to control the epidemic in the Horn of African country.

Yodit Getahun, who won this year's Miss Ethiopia Beauty Contest, will be playing the main role in the documentary sponsored by 'Action Aid Ethiopia' and the 'Dawn of Hope'.

"She contacted 'Dawn of Hope' to contribute her part in the organisation's campaign in the struggle to denounce the stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims and help build public awareness," said Yonas Berhane, director of the documentary, who was quoted in the "Capital" weekly.

Getahun will be filmed with people living with HIV/AIDS and also will be videoed playing with children living with the disease.

The film will be shown on Ethiopian television and will also be distributed to the country's anti-AIDS clubs and youth associations.

According to official statistics, there are 2.2 million HIV infected people in Ethiopia, out of a population of 67 million. Ethiopia ranks third after South Africa and Nigeria in sub-Saharan Africa in absolute numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS. The United Nations agency, UNAids estimates that 91 percent of reported AIDS cases are within the age group of 15 to 49, the most economically active and productive age group in Ethiopia.

Nationally admired Getahun might for the time being help spread the message, utilising the media, that people living with HIV/AIDS also have a right to life as any normal human being.

But the real battle lies in the rural hinterland where 85 percent of Ethiopia's population lives with little or no access to television.

And NGOs seem to be fighting an uphill battle in trying to initiate open dialogues with these communities on the risks of unprotected sex and the need for behavioural change in order to control the spread of HIV.

"In the rural areas there are still lots of discrimination against people suffering from AIDS and those who have tested HIV positive. It's basically ignorance. And it's in these areas that we need to go into," said Aradom Gebon, a counsellor with the Global AIDS Clinic and Diagnostic Laboratory.

"Some 85 percent of Ethiopians are in the rural areas and it's no use just concentrating HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in Addis Ababa. We have to reach out to the rest," he added.

Tadesse Wuhib, country director of the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out major stumbling blocks in raising HIV/AIDS awareness among the rural communities.

"Ethiopia is a closed society and sex is still treated as a taboo subject. That has prohibited significantly the work that could be done," he said.

Wuhib said stigma and discrimination were significant hindrances in open dialogue with the communities.

"There have been large numbers of deaths in Addis Ababa due to AIDS. But many, many Ethiopians do not acknowledge that the deaths were AIDS-related," he said.

"And this is because of the stigma. And stigma has a big impact on the work we are trying to do - many are reluctant to come for voluntary testing (for fear that they may test positive and they are going to be discriminated against)," added Wuhib.

"They are not opening up and discussing HIV/AIDS because they feel ashamed, and again it is the stigma. Open, frank dialogues are not able to be done," he said.

Wuhid stressed that communities must be engaged in the battle against HIV/AIDS.

"My view is that in this country - with such a diverse population with ethnicity and language -- unless we bring in the community, unless the community actively participates in this fight against the AIDS epidemic, we are not going to win," he said. "No single group, organisation or government will be able to do it alone."

"There's a lot of concentration in Addis Ababa with a neglect of other important areas - the reason why this has not been done is that there has been poor coordination, gaps are not identified," he stressed.

But Wuhid was optimistic that religious organisations could compliment the work of NGOs in their efforts to fight stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

"Church leaders and Muslim imams are very well respected among the communities and people do listen to them. They could play a significant role in breaking this stigma," he added.

This call has been taken up by the Ethiopian Islamic Supreme Council through its grassroots organisation, the Ethiopian Development Agency.

"We are training Imams, the leaders of Muslim communities, concerning stigma and discrimination and how to tackle them," said Ethiopian Development Agency's coordinator Ahmed Jemal.

"Imams spread the message in the mosques especially during Friday prayers. They also go on house-to-house visits and advise HIV positive people preaching love and compassion," Jemal added.

"The imams' message is that HIV/AIDS patients are also human beings and Allah still loves them and they are not bad people," he said.(END/IPS/AF/EA/HE/SD/GR/CR/AE/SI/MN/03)

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