Abuja, Nigeria- Moses Kollie Garzeawu, Liberia’s BBC Correspondent, is among the select group of fourteen elite African journalists converging in Abuja for a prestigious training opportunity.
Alongside peers from Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, and Nigeria, Moses is part of the African Disease Reporting Fellowship, a program aimed at enhancing journalistic expertise in health reporting across the continent.
Over the next week, Moses and his counterparts will immerse themselves in intensive training sessions led by experienced scientists and media trainers. The curriculum is designed to equip journalists with the necessary skills to combat misinformation, disinformation, and fake news in health reporting, particularly during health and humanitarian crises.
The African Disease Reporting Fellowship is organized by the Africa Diseases Prevention and Research Development Initiative, ADRAP, is a six-week comprehensive program tailored to enhance the reporting skills of journalists covering health-related topics in Africa. With a focus on tackling biases often associated with disease reporting in Africa, the fellowship aims to provide journalists with the tools and knowledge to report on health issues from well-informed perspectives.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Joseph Enegela, Executive Director Africa Diseases Prevention and Research Development Initiative, ADRAP told the journalists to be drivers of changing the storytelling around African health stories.
Dr. Enegela asked the journalists to break stereotypes on how stories are told about Africa and Africans.
“They were losing 150,000 to 200,000 people every flu season in the US. People didn’t know about those,” he stated.
One of the key objectives of the fellowship is to bridge the knowledge gap in health reporting by exposing participants to the latest tools and techniques. This includes understanding the social aspects of diseases, scientific developments, management strategies, policies, research focus, and more, all from an African perspective.
Each year, ten journalists from across Africa are selected to participate in this hands-on fellowship. The program offers practical training sessions where participants engage with scientists, experienced journalists, and health experts. Upon successful completion, participants receive a certificate acknowledging their commitment to advancing health reporting in Africa.
The ADRAP fellowship not only aims to empower early to mid-career journalists but also strives to dismantle collaboration barriers between journalists and scientists. By facilitating meaningful interactions and providing exposure to cutting-edge reporting techniques, the program seeks to elevate the standard of health journalism across the continent.
Through initiatives like the African Disease Reporting Fellowship, journalists like Moses Kollie Garzeawu are poised to play a crucial role in disseminating accurate and reliable information, ultimately contributing to improved health outcomes for communities across Africa.