Training journalist on reporting reproductive health
This was recently emphasised in Lafia, Nasarawa State at an advocacy workshop for journalists to garner support for the review and reform of the Nigeria Abortion Law and creating awareness on unsafe abortion and its consequences in Nasarawa and Benue States.The worshop centred on the theme: “Expanding Access to Safe Abortion and Post-Abortion Care (PAC) […]
This was recently emphasised in Lafia, Nasarawa State at an advocacy workshop for journalists to garner support for the review and reform of the Nigeria Abortion Law and creating awareness on unsafe abortion and its consequences in Nasarawa and Benue States.
The worshop centred on the theme: “Expanding Access to Safe Abortion and Post-Abortion Care (PAC) Services in Nasarawa and Benue, Nigeria”, code named Nigeria 46. It is the project of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Nasarawa State, one of the implementation partners of (PPFA-I).
PPFA seeks to improve the quality of life for women by increasing access to safe abortion care within the context of integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health care, through two main outcome areas; innovative services, and safe abortion advocacy.
Through innovative services, PPFA seeks to increase access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) information and services, including abortion care, in Nigeria. Its safe abortion advocacy outcome area seeks to contribute to favorable change in the social, legal, political climate related to access to safe and legal abortion in Nigeria.
This is where NUJ comes in; to create the needed awareness that will challenge the status quo and bring about fundamental change in the way SRH services are delivered.
The NUJ has a total grant of N4 million from the donor agency, but has so far drawn down about N2 million to carry out media campaign and sensitization for a period of six months beginning June and ending November 30.
A project document presented by PPFA Project Assistant, Foyeke Oyedokun, to a group of 20 journalists who sat for a weeklong training workshop on advocacy activities, in Lafia, recently, says the NUJ’s partner goal is to contribute to favorable change in the social, legal and political climate, related to access to sexual and reproductive health care, including safe and legal abortion in the two neighbouring states.
The project document spells short term outcome: to increase awareness of existing laws and where to obtain safe abortion services, and to increase support for review of abortion laws. This target brought the NUJ into a series of programmes including the advocacy training which attracted resource persons from reproductive health sub-sector. One of them, Mrs. Maryam Buba who is also the state coordinator of another international NGO – Pathfinder International, took participants on the role of journalists in addressing the issue of unsafe abortion.
“Death or morality from unsafe abortion can be prevented through advocacy to stakeholders and by providing adequate information to the public on the importance, availability, accessibility and affordability of family planning services,” she said.
Records from medical research, according to her paper, show a staggering 20 million abortions occurring annually world over, with developed countries accounting for 500,000 while developing countries have 19.5 million. Of this figure, the African continent accounts for 610,000 annually.
Mrs. Buba’s paper therefore stresses the advocacy role of the media, saying journalists will have to assist in creating and building public support for needed solution. The paper also urges journalists to put this issue on the public agenda and to serve as a vehicle for making better laws and regulations for this issue.
Furthermore, journalists are also to influence policies of government or a given community/society on issues such as Girl child education, early or teenage marriage/pregnancy, child’s right law, access to reproductive health and family planning services, women empowerment and reproductive rights, male involvement in reproductive health and family planning issues.
“Journalists can develop advocacy messages to address any of these issues raised”, the paper adds.
Another resource person, Mr. Sam Israel, a senior reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) took participants on the language of news writing and style. Israel cautioned journalists against provocative writing on issues of religion and traditional customs, insisting that advocacy activities that target the people must not be such that will insult their sensibilities.
At the end of the five day training, journalists resolved to make themselves part of the implementation of budgets on reproductive health by monitoring health facilities in their areas of coverage.
A communiqué drawn at the end of the training stated that journalists observed with displeasure the noise made by governments with respect to reproductive health, but stated that government budgets are never implemented to curb the ever rising cases of maternal morbidity and mortality.
The communiqué, read by Maryam Buba, also stressed the role of journalists as agents of social change, insisting that their reports on reproductive health must be seen to be counseling young people. The communiqué also stressed the need for journalists to increase awareness of existing laws and where to obtain safe services, as well as increase support for review of abortion laws.
The five day training was coordinated by Nigeria 46 coordinator, Rayyanu Bala and the partner’s secretary, Abubakar Abdullahi.