The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, on Monday in Uyo, commenced a two-day training for journalists in the South South on Investigative Healthcare reporting.
The training is the first in the series of two-day Media Capacity building programmes supported by the US Consulate General, Lagos.
Mrs Stella Nwofia, Senior Programme Manager, IPC, in her opening remarks, disclosed that the training is under the IPC Media in Health Care Accountability Project (MEHCAP).
Nwofia also disclosed that the programme is expected to train 45 young and mid-career journalists (journalists with 10 to 15 years experience) from the print, online and broadcast media outlets in the three geopolitical zones of South West, South south and South East of the country.
She noted that IPC was committed to upping the ante of the constitutional obligation imposed on the media to monitor governance and hold governments accountable to the people which is pertinent to ensuring health care sector accountability and service delivery because of the failures that Covid-19 has laid bare.
“Therefore, in the next two days, we shall seek to improve the skill of participants in those areas and perhaps much more, through the presentations by our eminent resource persons, to whom we are indeed grateful,” she said.
Similarly, Mr Segun Arogundade, Executive Director, IPC, said that from the analysis of baseline survey of trend in reportage of health and other related issues carried out in December 2020, there was the need for emphasis on research, as well as backing reports with facts and figures.
The training would focus on Media as effective catalyst of fundamental health care reforms as well as Infodemics and COVID-19 response.
