Journalists have been advised to always give preference on preventive measures while reporting health related issues.
Naijanewshub.com.ng reports that journalists have been urged to always chanel their reports on health related issues on preventive measures than giving preference to hazzard caused by any ailments or infections.
This was the advised of the chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists(NAWOJ) Oyo state chapter, Comrade Jadesola Ajibola at the just concluded capacity building for journalists on the Media Role in Disease Emergency Response organized by the Oyo State Emergency Operation Center in Collaboration with Oyo State NAWOJ funded by the World Health Organization.
Jadesola in her address at the program charged journalists to always ensure that their health based reports based on nothing but fact and accuracy.
She tasked participants of the training to always seeks for opinion of the experts whenever they are filling their reports.
Jadesola alongside other speakers at the one-day training program, which focuses on COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, measles, Yellow Fever, Lassa Fever, Monkey Pox, Cholera, Tuberculosis and more importantly Infodemic for Oyo state journalists called for more positive angle of reporting health based stories than a sensational angle.
She said, “we will do a lot of good to member of the public only if we can based our reports on preventive measures than reporting the hazzard or negative side of the stories.She noted that negative stories always scared people, thereby adding to their predicaments.
She said, people will love to read a preventive measures type of stories and take to all the precautions and this will reduce the numbers casualties as well as curb the menace of the infection of any kind in our society.
Jadesola also in her lecture called on the government in the news doe them to see journalists as a frontliner workers and should be treated as such.
She said, “We need to recognize journalists as frontline workers during emergencies. We should be seen and addressed as frontline workers and should be given hazard allowances.
“We report and do a lot of sacrifices and work during the COVID-19 period just like health workers and other professionals but when the government want to give incentives and donate items, they give it to health workers not minding that journalists are the one reporting all these events.
“We want the government and WHO and other agencies to see journalists as part of the people at the fore front during emergencies. We do a lot of work during emergencies like the outbreak of COVID-19. She said.
Dr. Akinfemi Akinyode, the State Epidemiologist in his address explained the importance of the training.He noted that the training was organised so as to ensure that journalists have the necessary information about COVID-19 and other diseases.
He said, “This training is organize to ensure that journalists have necessary information to give to the public. So that appropriate message can be passed to the members of the public”.
Also in attendance at the training are information officers from some selected Local Government Areas in the state, the Incident manager for COVID-19, Dr Oluwabukola Alawale; Dr Adeniyi Adeniran: Incident manager for Tuberculosis, Dr Oluyinka Dania, Cluster consultant, Mr. John Akinoye: State Liason Officer NCDC, among others.