WHO, Adamawa gov’t train media personalities on effective health reporting
The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Adamawa State Government has organised a three-day workshop for media personalities on health and behavioural change reporting in Yola.
According to Adamawa Daily Reports, the three-day workshop aimed to complement the heroic role played by social media influencers and media agencies during the era of COVID-19 by disseminating useful information which enlightened, protected and saved the lives of people in 2020.
In his opening remark, the Emergency State Coordinator, Dr Aheme Terseer, encouraged the participants to pay attention to every single piece of information relevant to the public which could be personal, environmental and community hygiene.
He explained how epidemic-prone diseases can be prevented rather than waiting until there is an outbreak.
Terseer added that if such diseases get good publicity from journalists and social media influencers, there will be no outbreak and loss of lives.
Addressing participants on behalf of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Health, Mr Laori who is also the Director, Public Health Department welcomed the media professionals to the workshop and encouraged them to concentrate and make the best use of the knowledge acquired.
A representative of WHO, Kingsley Igwebuike, said the objectives of the training include; improving skills beyond mere informative reporting to health behaviour outcome reporting and increasing the preponderance of lifesaving information on the mass media and social platforms so as to enable the at-risk population to take an informed decision to protect themselves from disease infections.
Participants were drawn from television and radio stations, print and online media firms from the public and private sectors as well as some social media influencers.
The highlights of the workshop include several paper presentations by WHO and the University Dons on issues related to epidemic-prone diseases (diphtheria, Lassa fever, yellow fever, monkeypox, measles, meningitis) ETC.
Others are; Risk Communication, WHO’s mandate in Health Emergency, Contemporary Issues in Reporting during Public Health Emergencies, Media/Social Media Influencers as Public Health Workers, Reporting to impact Behaviour, and lots more.
Delivering the closing remark, Dr Terseer urged the participants to make effective use of the knowledge acquired.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Comrade Ishaku Dedan, Adamawa State NUJ chairman, commended the organisers of the training and solicited more insightful training in future times.
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va74ZvU2v1IqKByXoX3d
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
