Prioritise Women Health Reportage – FAHIO Tells Journalists

ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA – An advocacy working group, Family Health Initiative Ogun (FAHIO), has tasked Media practitioners in Ogun State to prioritise girls/women health reportage by setting agenda on salient issues around girl’s/women’s health in order to bring some of their challenges on the front burner for stakeholders.

The FAHIO Chairperson, Mrs. Oluwakemi Balogun made the call during a one day training organised for Ogun State based selected journalists on media advocacy for girl’s/women’s health with support from the Pathfinder International, Nigeria, held in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Balogun said that the role of the media in improving girl’s/women’s health is very imperative, saying journalists need to always explore available data in their reportage.

“You don’t just use data percentage; you need to operationalise the data by putting human angle to the figures especially on girl’s health to raise awareness about HumanPapillomavirus Infection (HPV) which causes cervical cancer,” she said.

Also, the State Health Educator, Mr. AbdulWaheed Elegbede, in his lecture, said publicity on Human Papillomavirus Infection (HPV), could be simply achieved by initiating girl’s/women’s health related topical issues to hold people in power accountable through investigative journalism and fair and balanced reporting.

He advised the journalists to also use their reports to combat stigma against girl’s/women’s health, promoting diversity and always ensuring accuracy and balance reports.

According to him, there should be a paradigm shift in the media contents which mostly focus on politics and economy by also prioritising other compelling health issues and girl’s/women’s health in particular.

Similarly, one of the facilitators, Dr. Surajudeen Olayinka (SIO), said that HPV vaccine is recommended for girls aged 9-14 years to protect them against cervical cancer and other HPV related diseases.

He said the vaccine was highly effective in preventing cervical cancer, noting that the vaccine doesn’t only protect vaccinated individuals but also contributes to herd immunity.

In his goodwill message, State Coordinator, Pathfinder International, Nigeria,  Mr. Emah Udome, harped on the importance of intersectionality in girl’s/women’s health coverage and the need for journalists to be ethical by respecting the women’s privacy, seeking consent and being empathetic in their reportage.

He said journalists were expected to facilitate visibility of the girl’s/women’s health project in the State on their respective platforms, saying it would be appreciated if journalists could delve more on reporting issues that might affect girls/women positively.