Witch-hunts targeting children in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria have recently received an unprecedented amount of media attention. While this attention has prompted national and international organizations to take legal action against witch-hunts, powerful evangelical activists remain the underlying catalyst for spreading beliefs that promote the killing and torture of thousands of children.

26 May, HBO2 is set to premier the International Emmy Award-winning documentary "Save Africa's Witch Children." The film focuses on children who have been branded as witches by their community while following two men devoted to helping these children.

Sam Itauma, one of the men featured in the HBO documentary is also president and CEO of Child's Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) in Nigeria. He told MediaGlobal, "For the children that are branded witches, most of them are disgraced in public, beaten with broom sticks, machetes, 'mbritem' (a local medicinal stick soaked in hot water,) branded with hot iron, locked up in the churches or dark rooms for several months, and put through wild forms of exorcism."

Witchcraft in Africa refers to the ancient spiritual beliefs of rural communities. People possessing supernatural powers are considered good and evil and have the ability to control the spread of disease, wealth, agriculture, and natural disasters.

With the introduction of various sects of Christianity by European missionaries in the early 1900s, African communities began fusing together Christianity and ancient spirituality. In places like Akwa Ibom State, Evangelism and witchcraft have become indistinguishable. However, it is only until very recently that children have become prosecuted as witches. The State has reported the highest instance of child killings related to witchcraft. It also boasts the most concentrated number of churches in the world.

In many African communities, children of parents who die from HIV/AIDS are blamed for their parents' death. Itauma told MediaGlobal, "It is believed that children who are possessed can cause infertility, miscarriage, drunkenness, TB, HIV/AIDS, stroke, and hepatitis. It is equally thought that such children often can cause poverty, accident, unemployment, and untimely death. This has therefore fumed mass hatred against the stigmatized child."

Media coverage such as "Save Africa's Witch Children" has helped local organizations such as Stepping Stones Nigeria and CRARN to raise awareness about the situation. With pressure from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and support from the international community, the Nigerian government passed the Child's Rights Act in 2008. However, in many places like Akwa Ibom State, the police are unable to enforce these laws.

Meanwhile, the evangelical minister believed to be responsible for most of the killings has gained an enormous amount of media coverage. Helen Ukpabio is a self-proclaimed apostle and the founder of African Evangelical franchise of Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries and one of the central characters in the HBO documentary.

In "Save Africa's Witch Children," Ukpabio is portrayed as the villain of Akwa Ibom State. However, her films and books are still taken very seriously in communities of Nigeria. Thousands of people gather from all around Africa and listen to her discuss the cries of young children as being a sure sign of demonic possession.

Although the global media coverage of Ukpabio is largely negative, it has unintentionally helped spread her popularity and teachings. This negative consequence illustrates the complexity of the media's role in promoting awareness of issues in the international community.