Group urges media to scale up support to vulnerable people
NAN-HG-9
Communique
by Maharazu Ahmed
Zaria [Kaduna State], Dec. 23, 2016 [NAN] Media organisations in the country have been advised to scale up voices of vulnerable groups in the country to help eliminate wide scale ignorance and illnesses in communities.
The advice was contained in a communique issued in Zaria on Thursday at the end of a review meeting on Facts for Life and adoption of Essential Family Practices [EFPs] organised by the National Orientation Agency and UNICEF.
The meeting was attended by media chief executives, directors of programmes and producers of health programmes from Kaduna, Niger and Nasarawa States.
The meeting advised media houses to leverage each other, develop and share content, as well as explore issues affecting communities to attract interventions.
“It was agreed that in addition to jingles, news reports, commentaries, the organisations should also target role models, popular musicians to highlight key issues in EFPs, and also engage popular local film artistes to produce dramas on various issues in the EFPs.”
The communique indicated that the participants had agreed to design and produce media content to encourage breastfeeding, immunisation, hygiene, maternal and child care among other key issues in maternal and child survival.
They also agreed to encourage communities having Community Information Boards “by helping to tell their stories, so as to attract interventions where necessary and encourage other communities to embrace the use of the CIBs.”
The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the meeting had developed work plan on maternal and child health in 2017 to mobilise communities find solutions to their identified problems without waiting for government.
“The media should mobilise communities to clean their environment, provide toilet facilities, protect their water sources etc.”
They agreed to use more local languages and develop strategic messages to target specific groups hitherto not fully or directly addressed in previous media contents, such as husbands, mothers-in-law, and “laggers” hindering adoption of EFps.
The participants agreed to get more involved in development journalism and adopt the use of online platforms to counter censorship and other obstacles to human angle stories.
“In this respect, UNICEF was advised to incorporate training in online journalism in its programmes for the year.”
They called on various levels of government to equip existing health centres, build more health facilities, encourage health workers to work more diligently, monitor and discipline those found wanting.
“The meeting called on policy makers to allocate more resources to effectively address issues affecting the wellbeing, survival and development of women and childen in the country.”
The media practitioners sought for more synergy with other partners including Primary Healthcare Development Agencies, NOA, relevant ministries and supporting agencies to ensure adoption of EFPs, for the wellbeing of communities. [NAN]
MZA
Edited by Maharazu Ahmed