BY KIGEZI NEWS AGENCY TEAM
KAMPALA: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021
The Africa Health Solutions Journalism Initiative (AHSJI) has committed to train more Ugandan journalists to blend solutions journalism with investigative reporting of health.
Daniel Otunge, the project lead at AHSJI made the disclosure to health journalists during a two-day training that ended at Fareway hotel in Kampala on Tuesday.
Other upcountry journalists followed via a video link the training that focused on preparing the journalists to use Solutions Journalism approach for reporting Covid-19.
Based in Nairobi, Kenya, AHSJI’s objectives are to build the capacity of health journalists, editors and educators in solutions journalism and to increase collaboration among journalists and communities for effective solutions journalism based health reporting.
The others are to contribute to health policies processes by sharing relevant information with responsible state agencies and to disseminate curated issue-specific solutions journalism stories to the public for behavior change.
Otunge said to back up its training and interventions with evidence, the organization conducts surveys various opinion surveys and content analysis to determine trends of media coverage of health and its impact on communities.
They also carry out fellowship programmes targeting newsroom staff and freelance journalists based on the recommendations of institutional partners.
Under the fellowship programme, AHSJI offers a year-long Master’s degree programme aimed at creating cohorts of skilled and energetic solutions journalism scholars who embrace and impact solutions approach and help to spread it to their students and professional peers.
Otunge added: “Not many journalists and editors are conversant with solutions journalism tools, techniques and approaches. AHSJI will organize a series of seminars, workshops and conferences with a view to strengthen the capacity of journalists in solutions journalism.”
“A comprehensive curriculum, developed through a participatory process with the Solutions Journalism Network will guide the process,” said Otunge.
For the case of Uganda, he committed to work with the Health Journalism Network in Uganda (HEJNU) to organize the training mentor-ship programme.
He explained that mentor-ship is critical because participation in a single workshop and reading solutions journalism literature online are not enough to make one an accomplished solutions journalism reporter.
Esther Nakkazi, the HEJNU president said she was excited about the proposal and commitment to train more journalists, especially those based upcountry to do better solutions journalism health stories.
HEJNU is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues in Uganda.
The organization has over 70 members, all working journalists who are reporting on health in various media houses all over country-in print, TV, radio and online.
It also has non-journalist partners it works closely with including scientists, researchers and health communication professionals, Nakkazi said.
This story was first published by WESTNILE News
