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By Joseph Adahnu, Yola
The just-concluded three day workshop with Workshop Agenda For Media Journalist And Social Media’ engaged no fewer than fifty media drawn from the state and with participants from Print, Broadcast, Online and Social Media influencers with that it’s objective to improve skills of f participants beyond mere informative reporting to health behaviour outcome reporting is came and gone.
This is organised in Yola the Adamawa state capital so as to enable at risk populations to take informed decisions to protect themselves from disease infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration
with the Adamawa State Ministry of Health, is training journalists on wholesome health reporting.
WHO resource persons delivering the training in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, are placing emphasis on the need for journalists to key into early reporting on epidemics prone diseases to compel authorities into prompt action.
Responsible persons at the workshop, the Adamawa state WHO coordinator, Dr Ahemen
Terseer, who spoke at workshop to journalists and social media influencers, said involving
media in the fight against epidemic would reduce
propensity of epidemic diseases within a short time.
He expressed this during the last day of the workshop that, journalists and media influencers can enlighten the public beyond mere informative reporting
to health behavior outcome reporting.
“Journalists can enlighten family and communities against open defecation and drinking pond water. Please let our drinking water and washing hand water be clean always,” he advised.
“It is wrong to share washing hand water in one
basin with others while eating.
Family heads at community level must find ways of improving their
personal hygiene,” he added.
Dr Laori Sadiq is the Director Public Health in the state ministry of health, who spoke earlier, urged participants as major
stakeholders to continue to play their role towards mitigating disease especially during pandemic.
Prof Bashir Abdullahi of Modibbo Adama University (MAU) stated how Social media influencers are critical stakeholders in Public Health the need to incorporate social media influencers (SMI) in public health due to the great influence they wield in the society has been stressed.
He made the point during the just concluded three day workshop tag as ‘agenda for media journalist and social media influencers,’ Professor Bashir said in contemporary world SMI operate like magnets.
Noted further, that SMI are as important as the mainstream media urging health policymakers to mainstream their activities in passing key messages to the general public.
Professor Bashir Abdullahi however urged the SMI to engage in evidence based story
telling in order to avoid factual errors.
He also advised the SMI to avoid influencing their followers wrongly just as he urged
policymakers to use both the journalists and social media influencers effectively while
passing key health related messages to the general public.
On this, he urged the SMI to strive to feed the general public with credible and reliable information and to engage the audience positively and constructively.
According to the university Don, he urged journalists to always contextualize their stories and to be careful in selecting sources and health experts while
dealing with health issues.
He counselled the SMIs and journalists not to waste precious energy in debunking Myths until they grow big just as he urged
them to embrace human interest angle stories as they give more colour to story telling on health issues.
On his part, Professor Danjuma Gambo also of Modibbo Adama University (MAU) challenged journalists and SMIs to engage in deep research as it will be difficult to live what you don’t have.
He charged the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to take the lead in the advocacy for the establishment of a research desk officer in every media organization.
This, he tasked NUJ to open a research and documentation office for the benefit of
its teeming members that the world has so much evolved where only evidence
based story telling thrives, he added.
Some of the presentations were made by Dr. Adiel Apagu of WHO on Mandate in Health Emergencies (ERF)
In his presentation on Risk Communication,
Kingsley Igwebuike, an official with the
World Health organization (WHO) charged
Journalists to imbibe the principles of Risk
Communication while reporting an outbreak
of a disease so as to curb the number of
fatalities.
He said Journalists should be the first to report an outbreak of disease, but the
report shall be factual, credible, and express
empathy that will promote action.
According to Igwebuike, Risk Communication
creates stability and end crisis, which gives
readers and listeners the confidence and
willingness to take action and improves
credibility of the media outfit.
The official also stated that Media should
also be transparent in their health reportage
that will defines the expected behaviour or
rationale of people which requires the
adoption by stakeholders.
Doctor Isah Salisu also makes a
presentation on the ‘Overview of epidemic-
prone diseases in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states to include Diphtheria, Monkepox,
Lassa Fever, Cholera, Meningitis, Measles,
and Yellow fever among others.
