Community Visual Project Boosts Hiv Research In PNG Highland

Community Visual Project Boosts Hiv Research In PNG Highlands
http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/2011-02-24/png-community-visual-project-boosts-hiv-research-highlands

By Joys Eggins

GOROKA, PNG (Komuniti Tok Piksa/Pacific Media Watch): Komuniti Tok Piksa is developing new grounds for visual and community action around HIV/AIDS in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The project’s annual report, released at the University of Goroka this week, noted the project’s creative outputs - including an awareness song composed by teenagers in Chimbu, a photo exhibition by people living with HIV/AIDS in the Eastern Highlands, several photo narrative workshops and five short films.

Receiving the report, Vice-Chancellor Gairo Onagi said the project was a strategic move to innovate research at the university.

“UOG is more than a teacher’s college and KTP is an example of our networking with the University of Technology in Sydney to get students involved in innovative research using media tools to work with local communities” Onagi said.

“Their achievement sets a benchmark for HIV research in the country and UOG is privileged to be working alongside the National AIDS Council, through the project, which also raises awareness among our country’s highly educated, he said.

The PNG National AIDS Council’s research coordinator Wilfred Kaleva said it was pleasing to note the successes of the project with the potential KTP has for its use in the community as a HIV prevention strategy.

“It was a published report with pictures and accompanying CDs and covered all aspects of the project progress to date including challenges, preliminary results and budget," Kaleva said.

KTP project coordinator Verena Thomas said these small community projects were developed in collaboration with communities, using visual tools and dialogue around HIV and AIDS.

“While the report highlights our achievements for the past 12 months, there is still a lot of work ahead of us”, she said.

Review response
This project’s achievement is a major response to a Systematic Literature Review conducted in 2009, which called for an innovative approach to HIV and AIDS awareness in PNG.

Authors Evelyn King and Tony Lupiwa said in the review that provincial and community-led and driven responses, as well as positive engagement with PLWHAs and guidance from tradition and culture had to be prioritised.

With 2007 statistics from NACS showing an estimated 23,210 people living with HIV in PNG, culminated with the lack of awareness messages filtering through to the communities, a more locally oriented response is showing success.

Community engagement with technology and collaboratively developed messages are processes that KTP has been using and it is creating dialogue among communities about the HIV.

The first 12 months has allowed KTP to establish a visual research and community action process, which had not been done extensively in the country using media tools.

The interaction between researchers, communities and media tools will be developed further this year into a manual for other groups willing to use a similar approach.

ENDS

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