- Title: KENYA: Feature film confronts HIV and AIDSstereotypes
- Date: 1st December 2008
- Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (NOVEMBER 28, 2008) (REUTERS) 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PATRICK KABUGI, PRODUCER AND SCRIPTWRITER, SAYING: "The impact I expect the movie to have is just a sense of looking inside, two ways: there is the way that it brings out the issue of hope, that when you are HIV positive, it is not the end of the world. But there is also the side of how do I relate to people who are living with HIV. How do I relate to people who are sick?"
- Embargoed: 16th December 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Health
- Reuters ID: LVADBGY5UQDCVTI1EATC14EY6DU8
- Story Text: A new movie in Kenya is trying to promote tolerance and break down stereotypes about HIV/AIDS. "Unseen, Unsung, Unforgotten" is a story about four young people living with HIV, and how it affects their lives, their friends and their families.
The characters are mainly middle-class residents of the capital, Nairobi. The film's creators hope this will encourage more people to get tested and to disclose their status. They also hope the movie will help shatter the belief that HIV/AIDS only affects poorer people.
"The impact I expect the movie to have is just a sense of looking inside, two ways: there is the way that it brings out the issue of hope, that when you are HIV positive, it is not the end of the world. But there is also the side of how do I relate to people who are living with HIV. How do I relate to people who are sick?" said Patrick Kabugi, producer and scriptwriter of "Unseen, Unsung, Unforgotten".
According to the latest Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey released in July 2008, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was at 7.8 percent up from 6.7 percent in 2003. However, UNAIDS reports that prevalence rates have halved in the last decade.
Mona Mbogo-Scott, director of "Unseen, Unsung, Unforgotten", hopes the movie will have a lasting impact on its audience.
"I think it will have an impact especially if we emphasise that to people. So, as you are watching the movie, it's not just a movie you are watching, you know that you are lending your soul, you are lending yourself to a campaign that is going to be beneficial to everybody," she said.
Actress Mumbi Maina says the film has changed her perception of HIV/AIDS.
"Before I read the script even, I found that, when I thought about HIV or AIDS, I always thought of it as something that happened to other people or way out there," Maina said.
Last year, Kenya's government introduced free access to anti-retroviral drugs in all public hospitals. In the past many who couldn't afford the life prolonging medicine succumbed to AIDS and were often stigmatised by members of their communities.
An estimated 36 percent of Kenya's 35 million population know their HIV status. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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