Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma, recently in Johannesburg, South Africa
JOURNALISTS in Africa have been encouraged to take up One Health reporting, which is a new approach to dealing with the global public health, environmental and planetary challenges.
One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach, working at the local, regional, national, and global levels, with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognising the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
Presenting a paper titled “One Health Reporting: The intersections between human health and the environment”, at the recently ended 18th African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) in Johannesburg, South Africa, Internews Health Journalism Network Member Engagement Coordinator, Kathryn Cleary said emerging health crises have necessitated a shift towards One Health reporting which she said provides a balance in reporting on human, animal and environmental health.
“One Health is an integrated and unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and the wider environment are closely linked and interdependent,” she said.
The approach has been adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that works closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) to promote multisectoral responses to public health threats originating in the animal-human-environment interface.
Although this integrated approach is widely accepted as the most effective way to reduce these risks, it receives little media attention. Cleary said the Covid-19 pandemic had necessitated the refocusing of health and environmental reporting, which led to One Health being the new buzz word in the health journalism circles.
“The Covid-19 pandemic put a global spotlight on zoonotic diseases. At the same time, vigorous research advocacy and policy work focused on climate change ongoing and growing. Health journalism is not only looking at the clinical, but the interconnected, holistic health of our plant,” she said.
She said common one health issues were water contamination, zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, drought and human wildlife conflict, vector borne diseases such malaria, among others. The One Health Joint Plan of Action was developed in response to international requests to prevent future pandemics and to promote health sustainably through the One Health approach.
It outlines the commitment of the quadripartite organisations (FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH) to collectively advocate and support the implementation of One Health. It builds on, complements and adds value to existing global and regional One Health and coordination initiatives aimed at strengthening capacity to address complex multidimensional health risks with more resilient health systems at global, regional and national level.
Speaking at the same conference, Internews Rooted in Trust Media Mentor in Zimbabwe Thando Nkomo, said the One Health approach to journalism helped health communicators to package information in a way that was more relevant, understandable and useful to different communities. He urged health journalists in the region to join the network in order to help newsrooms and individuals improve on their health journalism and to also join a global network which offered opportunities for exchanges.
“The Health Journalism network is a global community of media and communications professionals, civil society organisations, academics, technical experts and digital health innovators who share a passion for health and health information. The network supports members by providing access to specialised training, resources, opportunities and collaborations to enhance their impact and reach,” said Nkomo.
Other sessions at the conference were on investigating health crimes and public health financing in Africa in light of the Covid19 pandemic. Journalist were also trained on the power of collaborations especially in international stories.
Another key speaker Tegan Bedser, project manager at Media Hack Collective, encouraged reporters to take up data journalism, saying the beat could help bring about additional colour and more factual reporting in journalism, at a time when communities were flooded with information, some of it not factual.
Female investigative reporters also tackled gender inequalities in newsrooms, and the critical need for changing gender imbalances in investigative journalism. Sandrine Sawadogo, investigative journalist and member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Burkina Faso said that despite these challenges, female health and investigative journalists in the continent were making great strides and that their work was positive impacting communities and helping influence police changes.
Various Zimbabwean newsrooms and other media organisations were represented at the conference, with 42 African countries and 10 other global nations being participating. – @andile_tshuma
Bongani Ndlovu