The board and staff of MISA Zambia held a workshop that resulted in the adoption of a regional HIV and AIDS policy, which is to be replicated by the chapter’s member institutions. To date, five institutional members have been identified. Training A total of 400 media personnel in the region were trained during the financial year under review. This was MISA’s attempt to improve the media’s research and coverage skills. The training included, among others, economics reporting and sub-editing; print and broadcast media; investigative journalism; and reporting on HIV and AIDS. To promote reporting on HIV and AIDS, MISA Malawi embarked upon a project in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called ‘Caring for the Media’. Under this project, journalists were trained on preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV so they can report more effectively and authoritatively. The project also comprises awards, which are still to be handed out. Training in investigative, in-depth and long-term research reporting, using public and private information sources, including financial information and budgets, took place in Tanzania and MISA sponsored 11 journalists from the region to attend an investigative journalism workshop at the University of the Witwatersrand. Due to the training in Tanzania, articles on anti-corruption and good governance have increased dramatically, to the extent that the donor community has called on the government to respond to the corruption scandals levelled against it and its agencies. Parliamentary inquiries into corruption led to the resignation of the prime minister and two other ministers involved in the Richmond scandal, as well as a major Cabinet reshuffle and the sacking of the Bank of Tanzania governor following the External Payment Account Scandal. Challenges The lack of reporting from a human rights angle when dealing with issues of gender and HIV and AIDS has been a major concern for MISA. As a result, an initiative was undertaken to develop a human rights information manual for newsrooms in the region. The draft manual was piloted in a number of newsrooms in Namibia and with media technology students of the Polytechnic of Namibia. Their feedback was used to improve the draft and the manual is to be published by Human Rights Day 2008. The media’s responsibility to promote a human rights approach to editorial coverage that gives a voice to women and men, people living with HIV and AIDS, and all interest groups, while challenging stereotypes around the epidemic and its gender dimensions, is still lacking and is a work in progress. There is still a lot of dependence on government and non-governmental organisation pronouncements that fail to give a human face and voice to the pandemic. While coverage of gender and HIV and AIDS is important, very few of the region’s large media houses have policies in place to safeguard or provide a conducive working environment to HIV-positive media workers. Research conducted under the MAP Project and several discussions held with media personnel have shown that a number of staff members were hesitant to be open about their positive status at work because of the stigma that still surrounds the disease. Inevitably this also affects what is presented to the public. The process to roll out the in-house policies faces many challenges. Media houses are slow or reluctant to respond, especially after the buy-in process. 32 Annual Report 2008