Nigeria Health Watch, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, and the Family Planning News Network (FPNN) have trained 20 journalists in Kano on using solutions journalism to report on reproductive health, an approach aimed at shifting media focus from problems to effective responses.
The journalists drawn from some of the northern states will in the next three days deepen their understanding of solutions-oriented reporting and engage directly with officials from the Kano State Primary Healthcare Board.
At the orientation ceremony, the Director of Media Programmes, Chibuike Alagboso said the programme is meant to deepen the knowledge of journalists around solutions journalism adding that the field trip would enable the journalists see initiatives on ground to enable them understand solutions journalism fully.
He added that the training would casade down to the newrooms where the journalists work stressing that it is time journalists look beyond problems and start talking and wrioting about what is working.
The journalists engaged with officials from the Kano State Primary Healthcare Board, including the Family Planning Focal Person, Fatima Mai Iyali, Adolescents Focal Person, Zara’u Ibrahim, and Hauwa Aliyu, who outlined key reproductive health programs in the state.
Farouk Muhammad Bello and Abdullahi Isa Saminaka from MSI Nigeria and Kenneth Ibe and Hadiza Muhammad from Nigeria Health Watch led sessions designed to help journalists craft balanced, evidence-led stories that spotlight what works in public health.
The journalists will proceed for short field visits to MSI facilities to interview family planning providers and beneficiaries, gather data and observe what is ongoing at the facilities. The fellowship is expected to end in November 2025.
