Tanzania Network of Journalists Living with HIV (TNJ+) was established on January 9, 2010 by eleven founder members, to spearhead the campaign to eradicate HIV/AIDS and help to provide awareness education to convince people take the HIV test voluntarily and be open about their status in order for the campaign to be effective.

OUR VISION:
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The international community has learnt that it can succeed in the response to HIV and AIDS only if the civil society is at the heart of its efforts. Journalists Living with HIV strongly believe that we are a key driving force in the HIV and AIDS responses, and with appropriate support we can help programme planners identity poorly understood factors underlying the spread of HIV and AIDS, promote the acceptance of the existence of HIV and AIDS in the communities, reduce stigma and discrimination and eventually improve the quality of life of those living with or affected with HIV.

WAR AGAINST HIV/AIDS, STIGMA CAN BE WON IF JOURNOS SPEAK UP

By Zephaniah Musendo

The entire newsroom of New Habari (2006) Limited was hushed. Fellow journalists sat motionless, their faces looking mystified not because they did not comprehend what I was telling them, but rather how I dared to say whatever I said.
I had just come from Nairobi where I attended a workshop organized by the regional network of Journalists Living With HIV/AIDS (JLWHA) and I was briefing them on the workshop resolutions that journalists had the noble duty to be in the forefront in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Journalists, as communicators, have to pass on information not only on how one could contract the disease, but also to persuade the community to go for voluntary testing, because testing is a step forward in the response against the disease.
Once someone knows his or her health status, then he or she is in a better position to respond to the situation. He or she would attend to the care and treatment clinic for counselling and for anti-retroviral therapy if diognised HIV positive.
Journalists must be brave to speak up openly about their status. It makes a big difference when a journalist writes about voluntary testing and being open and never does anything about it himself or herself and when a journalist who after taking the test and diagnosed positive writes about it and discloses his or her status to the public in order to encourage others to follow suit.
Issues of stigma and discrimination continue to pose formidable barriers to the effectiveness and scale up of prevention, treatment, care and support interventions, but if journalists destroy this stigma jinx using their professional outlets, the HIV/AIDS war will have been half-won.
Those who experience HIV related stigma and discrimination, suffer a range of consequences from loss of employment and housing, inability to access and control their property and resources, alienation from family, friends, exclusion from communities and increased risk of violence.
But with their pens journalists can help win the fight against HIV/AIDS if they drop the myths and step out of the box to speak and write openly about their experiences with HIV/AIDS. Otherwise, those who have not undergone the test will continue to delay or avoid altogether seeking counselling and testing, treatment and other services for fear of being ostracized, rejected or treated differently than others.
Journalists don't have an option. If we are surely people's watchdog, then we must come out of our shells and make our voices heard. We can do this better if we come together and form a national network of journalists living with HIV/AIDS. We must face the challenge and cross the bridge or shy away and be doomed.

THE TASK AHEAD:
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The problem we are facing in Tanzania now is that most journalists are standing behind the fence when it comes to being open about their HIV status and therefore it has been difficult to find members to join the network. Our immediate project would be to conduct a training programme for journalists to remove them from behind the fence and make them active players inside the network. This entails expenses to bring journalists to a training hall, pay for their hotel accommodation and meals, pay for their trainers, pay for their transport to Dar es Salaam and back to their respective homes, and pay for training facilities. We would like to ask for the assistance of willing donors to make this happen soon.

Mtandao wa Tanzania wa Waandishi wa Habari za kuishi na virusi vya ukimwi (TNJ +) ilianzishwa tarehe 9 Januari 2010 na wanachama kumi na moja mwanzilishi, kuongoza kampeni ya kutokomeza VVU / UKIMWI na kusaidia kutoa elimu ya elimu na kushawishi watu kupima VVU kwa hiari na kuwa wazi kuhusu wao sasa ili kwa ajili ya kampeni na kuwa na ufanisi .

DIRA YETU :
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Jumuiya ya kimataifa ina kujifunza kwamba inaweza kufanikiwa katika majibu ya na VVU na UKIMWI kama tu vyama vya kiraia ni wakati wa moyo wa jitihada zake. Waandishi wa habari wanaoishi na VVU sana kuamini kwamba sisi ni nguvu muhimu ya kuendesha gari kwa maambukizi ya ukimwi na majibu ya UKIMWI, na kwa msaada wa inafaa sisi inaweza kusaidia mpango wa mipango utambulisho hazifahamiki sababu msingi wa kuenea kwa VVU na UKIMWI, kuhamasisha kukubali kuwepo kwa VVU na UKIMWI katika jamii, kupunguza unyanyapaa na ubaguzi na hatimaye kuboresha hali ya maisha ya wale wanaoishi au walioathirika na virusi vya .

vita dhidi ya VVU / UKIMWI, unyanyapaa CAN BE alishinda IF JOURNOS kuongea,,
By Sefania Musendo ,,
ya Chumba cha habari nzima ya New Habari (2006) Limited ilikuwa hushed. Waandishi wa habari wenzangu Jmo motionless, nyuso zao kuangalia mystified si kwa sababu hakuwa na kufahamu nini nilikuwa kuwaambia, lakini badala ya jinsi mimi aliyethubutu kusema chochote mimi alisema.,, Mimi nilikuwa kuja kutoka Nairobi ambapo mimi kuhudhuria semina iliyoandaliwa na mtandao wa kikanda wa Waandishi wa Habari za wanaoishi na VVU / UKIMWI (JLWHA) na mimi nilikuwa mkutano wao juu ya maazimio ya semina kwamba waandishi wa habari alikuwa na wajibu noble kuwa mstari wa mbele katika vita dhidi ya HIV / AIDS.
Waandishi wa habari, kama kommunicera, kuwa moja ya habari si tu jinsi gani mtu anaweza mkataba wa ugonjwa, lakini pia na kuwashawishi kwa jamii kwenda kwa upimaji wa hiari, kwa sababu kupima ni hatua mbele katika kukabiliana dhidi ya ugonjwa huo.
Mara mtu anajua afya yake kwa sasa, basi yeye ni katika nafasi nzuri ya kukabiliana na hali hiyo. Yeye au angeweza kuhudhuria kliniki ya huduma na matibabu kwa ajili ya ushauri na kwa ajili ya matibabu ya dawa za kupunguza makali kama diognised virusi vya ukimwi.
Waandishi wa Habari lazima kuwa jasiri kuongea waziwazi kuhusu hali yao. Inafanya mabadiliko makubwa wakati mwandishi wa habari na anaandika kuhusu upimaji wa hiari na kuwa wazi na wala hana chochote kuhusu yeye mwenyewe au yeye mwenyewe na wakati mwandishi wa habari ambaye baada ya kuchukua vipimo na matibabu mazuri anaandika kuhusu hilo na kwa sasa discloses yake kwa umma ili kuwahimiza wengine kufuata nyayo.
Masuala ya unyanyapaa na ubaguzi kuendelea litasababisha formidable vikwazo kwa ufanisi na wadogo juu ya kuzuia, matibabu, huduma na hatua msaada, lakini kama waandishi wa habari kuiharibu Jinx unyanyapaa kwa kutumia maduka yao ya kitaaluma, na HIV / UKIMWI vita mapenzi kuwa nusu-won
Wale ambao uzoefu HIV kuhusiana unyanyapaa na ubaguzi, mateso mbalimbali ya matokeo kutoka kupoteza ajira na makazi, kutoweza kupata na kudhibiti rasilimali na mali zao, kutengwa na familia, marafiki, kutengwa. jamii na hatari ya kuongezeka kwa ghasia.,, lakini kwa kalamu zao waandishi wa habari inaweza kusaidia kushinda vita dhidi ya VVU / UKIMWI kama tone uongo na hatua nje ya sanduku ya kusema na kuandika waziwazi juu ya uzoefu wao na HIV / AIDS. Vinginevyo, wale ambao wanashiriki katika mtihani itaendelea kuchelewesha au kuzuia kabisa kutafuta ushauri nasaha na upimaji, matibabu na huduma nyingine kwa hofu ya kuwa ostracized, kukataliwa au kutibiwa tofauti na wengine.
Waandishi wa habari hawana chaguo. Kama sisi ni hakika inayofuatilia ya watu, basi ni lazima tutatupwa nje ya shells wetu na kufanya kusikia sauti zetu. Tunaweza kufanya vizuri kama sisi kuja pamoja na kuunda mtandao wa kitaifa wa waandishi wa habari wanaoishi na VVU / Ukimwi. Ni lazima uso na changamoto na msalaba daraja au aibu mbali na kuwa hauna nguvu kazi mbele .

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Tatizo sisi ni yanayowakabili katika Tanzania sasa ni kwamba waandishi wengi ni kusimama nyuma ya uzio wakati anakuja na kuwa wazi juu ya hali yao ya VVU na hiyo imekuwa vigumu kupata wanachama kujiunga na mtandao. mradi wetu haraka itakuwa kufanya mpango wa mafunzo kwa waandishi wa habari ili kuondoa uzio nyuma yao na kuwafanya wachezaji wa kazi ndani ya mtandao. Huu unahusu gharama za kuleta waandishi wa habari katika ukumbi wa mafunzo, kulipa kwa ajili ya makazi ya hoteli yao na chakula, kulipa kwa ajili ya wakufunzi wao, kulipa kwa usafiri wao wa Dar es Salaam na nyuma ya nyumba zao, na kulipa kwa ajili ya vifaa vya mafunzo. Tungependa kuomba msaada wa wafadhili tayari kufanya hii kutokea hivi karibuni.