Group Inaugurates New Project To Raise Investigative Health Reporters

Posted by Eric Ojo Latest Headlines, News, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Tuesday, December 1st, 2020

The International Press Centre (IPC), a frontline media development organization has launched a new initiative to facilitate the emergence of a corps of next generation Investigative Health Reporters.

Dubbed, “Media-in-Health-Care-Accountability Project (MeHCA-P)”, the initiative is supported by the US Consulate-General, Lagos-Nigeria. The six-month project is expected to commence in December.

It also seeks to enhance the capacity of the media and younger generation journalists to serve as effective catalysts of fundamental health care reforms as well as monitor government response and utilization of funds allocated to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and other health emergencies.

In addition, the project will start with a one-month baseline assessment exercise of current trends in media reporting of health care issues, the outcome of which shall be used to design the capacity building programs to be organized in the later part of the project.

Moreover, the outcomes will also be used to engage with media managers on the need to improve health sector reporting.

The capacity building programme, according to a statement by IPC’s Programme Manager, Stella Nwofia, shall target young and mid-career journalists from the print, online and broadcast media outlets in the three geopolitical zones of South West, South South and South East.

The statement added that the participants will be journalists who are committed to reporting issues of governance, accountability and transparency in the health sector and are willing to help provide solutions to identified problems.

“The selection of the Journalists shall therefore be competitive and there will be a call for expression of interest on IPC’s website (www.ipcng.org) and the organization’s social media platforms”, the statement said.

Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade said it is all about upping the ante of the constitutional obligation imposed on the media to monitor governance and hold government accountable to the people.

“It is in that context that the project will seek to assist journalists to ensure health care sector accountability and service delivery because of the failures that Covid-19 have laid bare”, he added.

Mr. Arogundade noted that it is the first phase of MeHCA-P and he expects that other development partners and donors would partner with IPC on the project so that it could benefit many more journalists across the country.

“We hope we would have the funding support to produce the next generation health care Investigative Reporters in each local government, each state and each geo-political zone of Nigeria”, he stressed.