IPC Organizes Media Workshop For Journalist On Investigative Health Care Reporting

Posted by Ignatius Okpara Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Sunday, June 27th, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Journalists in Nigeria have been challenged as watch dog of the society to always use their respective media platforms in beaming search light on activities of government in the nation’s health sector.

Resource persons at a two – day Media workshop on investigative Health Care Reporting, organized by the International press Centre (IPC), Lagos, South -West Nigeria, for selected Journalists from the South – East geo political zone of the country, stated this yesterday in their various paper presentations during the programme.

They maintained that as a critical sector, the media in Nigeria, must as a matter of priority continue to monitor and evaluate the day to day workings of governments at all levels in the sensitive and vital sector.

Welcoming participants earlier on behalf of (IPC) Executive Director, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, the programme officer of the organization, Stella Nwofia, explained that the workshop was the “second in the series of two-day Media Capacity building programs supported by the (US) Consulate-General, Lagos-Nigeria under our Media in Health Care Accountability Project (MEHCAP)

Arogundade, explained that the program is expected to train 45 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 of Nigeria.

“IPC is committed to upping the ante of the constitutional obligation imposed on the media to monitor governance and hold government accountable to the people which is pertinent to ensure health care sector accountability and service delivery because of the failures that Covid-19 have laid bare.

According to him, during the programme, “we shall seek to improve the skill of participants in the above areas and perhaps much more, through the presentations by our eminent resource persons, to whom we are indeed grateful.

In a presentation, a Senior Journalists, Mrs Moji Makanjuola, who currently heads the International Society of Media in Public Health (as Executive Director) – a non-governmental organization devoted to mainstreaming the media as a potent tool to accelerate health care information and delivery in Nigeria and beyond, stressed the need for the Nigerian media to always hold government accountable for the citizens.

She emphasised the need for the media to ensure that public health rights are pursued as human rights through dissemination of health information and advocacy in public health.

The retired Senior Health Correspondent of Nigeria Television Authority NTA, posited that as the watch dog of the Society, the media must always be on the front seat in holding policy makers accountable on issues bothering the health sector, via monitoring and evaluation M&E approach.

Also delivering papers, a promoter of science and public health journalism in Nigeria and African continent, who is also the Project Director, Development Communications Network DEVCOMS, Lagos, Mr. Akin Jimoh, had impacted on the participants some skills that will enable them discharge their investigative journalism duties.

He took the participants through “topics such as Media as Effective Catalyst of fundamental health care reforms.

Jimoh, was the first news editor for the World Federation of Science Journalists’ website who played key roles as a mentor and Anglophone coordinator (2009 – 2013) in the Science Journalism Cooperation (SjCOOP) Project, advised the participants to see themselves as agenda setters whom the public always look unto.

The Country Director, US Department of Defense’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Dr. Laura Chittenden, and Halilu Usman, Communication Specialist, US Centres for Disease Control and prevention (CDC), Nigeria Country office had during the workshop addressed the participants via zoom platforms.

Our Correspondent who attended the workshop reports that the US Consulate public Affairs officer, Stephen Ibeli, who was physically present at the event, equally spoke to the participants.