INTRODUCTION
Since 1981 when HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed in united states of America, (USA) the virus has spread throughout the worldwide affecting both the rich and the poor urban and rural people alike.
Technically speaking, the HIV which disables the human immune system is either of two strains of a retrovirus, HIV – 1 or HIV-2 that destroys the immune system T Cells the loss of which causes AIDS (Encarta, 2006). The African continent has not been spared from this scourge. Statistic reveal that of the estimated 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2005 (UNAIDS reports, 2006) at least 70% were residing in sub sahara Africa (development management associates 2002).
The pandemic had left 1.7 million people around the world have died of HIV/AIDS 3.8 million of them are children while 4.1 million were infected with HIV in 2005 and 2.8 million died of HIV/AIDS I 2005 alond (UNAIDS report 2006). In Nigeria, the 2005 HIV/AIDS Syphilis sentinel survey show that 4.4% are living with HIV/AIDS of the total adult population aged 15 – 49 years who are still sexually active. The sentinel survey was compiled from data collected at antenatal clinic across the country. The media HIV/AIDSS prevalence among antenatal clinics has leveled off at around 4% (FMOH report 2003) however, such a report is a guideline and cannot be considered conclusive. Most Nigeria mothers do not deliver in clinics and not all of them do allows themselves to be tested for HIV/AIDS test (Afolabi and Adesina 2005).
Nevertheless, Nigeria has the third largest global number of people living with HIV/AIDS with an estimated number of between (1.7 million and 4.2 million) behind India and south Africa (UNAIDS Report on the global HIV/AIDS Epidemic 2002) countries of the world have been responding to the challenges of HIV/AIDS through various awareness campaign to sensitize her nationals on meaning, mode of spread as well as prevention of the infection.
The media have played a pivotal role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is often said that education is the vaccine against HIV/AIDS (Global Media AIDS initiative 2004). Therefore, many media organization are rising to the challenge by promoting awarrenss of HIV/AIDS and educating the general public on its control. In united state of ameria 72% of Americans indentify television radio and newspapes as their primary source of information about HIV/AIDS more than doctors, friends and family. India, more than 70% of respondents aid they had received their information about HIV/AIDS from television (global media AIDS initiative 2004).
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The literature for this study was mostly drawn from books and journals and from exiting theories and empirical studies that are related to the subject matter.
THE REVIEW
In the world today, there is hardly anuy health issue that has generated immense physical, intellectual, material effort an mdidcal sisocurse than HIV/AIDS. Through sexually transmitted disease (STDS), a hyponym under which HIV/AIDS is just a subset include Gonorrhea, Granuloma Inguinale, Herpes simplex, warts Hepatitis B, Trichodilosis Pubis scabis and HIV/AIDS. The latter which is the most recent has proved to be the most terrible the most life threatening disease to mankind (alder 1995; farthing et al 1998; Adedimeji 2004a).