By Taban Gabriel
12 Journalists drawn from different media houses within Juba on Friday completed three-day training on multi-hazards health reporting in South Sudan.
The training organized by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) seeks to build the capacity of journalists on how to gather and disseminate “right” information on multi-hazard health situations in the country.
It further pursues to strengthen journalists’ understanding of how information and communication sharing can help communities respond to emergencies
Additionally, the training highlighted the importance of passing essential information “at the right time” through different media channels
“Imagine just two months ago, there was a campaign for cervical cancer, it did not come out on the media, and I asked the minister of health why there is no information of awareness on our Television,” Rev. Janet Michael, the Director General for Nursing and Midwifery in the Ministry of Health said.
By the end of the training, journalists are expected to “clearly” understand the principles of “one health approach” and the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health
As part of her opening remarks, the Director General for Nursing and Midwifery, Reverend Janet Michael, challenged media practitioners to verify health information before sharing it with the public.
“The role of the media is to inform people about health information as long as it does not affect other people,” she added
Janet urges journalists to share “a lot” of accurate information about health issues with communities in South Sudan
Angelo Guop Thon Kouch, the Director General for Health Security and Emergency Workforce Development and One Health in the Ministry of Health, urges journalists to halt disinformation regarding health issues in the country.
An official from WHO (requested for anonymity) tasked with imparting knowledge to the journalists urges media practitioners to “quite often” consult the Ministry of Health on health matters “to avert gaps in communicating vital information”
South Sudan’s Ministry of Health is still struggling with health partners to contain the cholera outbreak that was declared in the country in October
On Thursday alone, 20 cases were recorded in the national capital, Juba, with the majority of cases attributed to people coming from highly infected states, according to the Ministry of Health.