African "rebranding" should not neglect HIV/AIDS
One of the main debates at last week’s World Economic Forum on Africa summit held in Cape Town was on the issue of “rebranding Africa” to make it more attractive to foreign investors looking for business opportunities. Some participants at the forum felt that the African media need to focus less on the continent’s problems and more on its potential.
In the manner of “AIDS fatigue”, foreign investors are apparently fed up with bad news, whether it be the HIV/AIDS pandemic ravaging most African countries, the famine in Ethiopia or the war in Darfur. They want to know about the prime land on the coast of the Western Cape just begging to be developed, the gold, diamonds, oil, and tourism potential of the continent.
Peter Sullivan, group editor-in-chief of Independent Newspapers, sums up this desire for good news in an article published in the Sunday Tribune on June 4:
“Africa must tell its story better - and boot out the Bonos, Jolies, Geldofs and other poster people for poverty - so that economic growth is highlighted instead of war, poor people and disease.
“The continent needs to import skills, attract foreign direct investment, laud social entrepreneurs and make cities engines for growth.
“These were the major messages of this year’s World Economic Forum Africa summit in Cape Town, as delegates celebrated Africa’s success instead of focusing on failure.
“Telecommunication, transportation and health were on the agenda, but the most heat was generated by debate on aid, not AIDS; investment and partnership, not crime and corruption.”
Sullivan, who was a facilitator during the “Rebranding Africa” discussion, seems rather excited by this idea. As one of the largest media companies in South Africa, the Independent group wields an enormous stick when it comes to directing public opinion. If Sullivan is an advocate for this idea, then I believe there is cause for worry. If media groups focused less and less on the difficult stories that are integral to our continent’s reality by supporting this rebranding idea, the importance of such issues would diminish in everyone’s minds. It was through the media that we realised the seriousness of HIV/AIDS. It’s absurd that such issues should now be taboo in the media.
The idea to rebrand Africa is not a new one. For instance, last year, president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, told a Washington audience that investors need to realise that Africa is more than just about poverty and war.
“News headlines and footage transmit images of starving women and children in Niger. They report on violence and suffering in Sudan’s Darfur region. They cite alarming statistics about the human toll of HIV/AIDS and malaria. But there’s another part of the story that we hear about all too rarely. To borrow the words from this cover issue, ‘Whatever you think about Africa, think again’. There is another face to Africa, one of hope, ambition, energy, intelligence and achievement.”
Granted, there is more to Africa than poverty and strife and that side needs to be acknowledged, applauded and capitalised upon. But that should not mean that HIV/AIDS-related issues, wars and the suffering of Africans should be relegated to the backburner.
Rebranding Africa as a continent only of sunshine and opportunity would be a serious blow to the fair representation in the media of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, not to mention other issues that are already under-reported.
The media should not be put in a position where they have to choose between being fair and truthful, or contributing to the continent’s gross annual income. - Akhona Cira