Background  

Health Journalism has become a significant genre for regional media organizations in recent years. The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, and the threat of emergence of other epidemics have highlighted the need for strengthening the capacity of the broadcasters to cope with such public health issues to broadcast relevant stories. In early 2020, the world witnessed many misinformed and mal-informed stories related to the pandemic as many media practitioners were not knowledgeable enough to broadcast such stories with precise context. The results generated uncertainties among masses, affected national economies, rise in xenophobia, and malpractices from quack medical practitioners.  

Aim & Objectives  

AIBD/HBF regional workshop of Training on Health Journalism will be attended by the media professionals of the Asia-Pacific region who have significant experience in health reporting and programming. The event activities will be highlighted on:  

1. Social media in the form of blogs, vlogs, articles, tweets, and posts
2. The participating journalists will broadcast the project on their respective channels i.e. Radio or Television 

Objectives: 

• To train content producers to use health data for evidence-based reporting. 
• To work effectively with medical/ health experts to mitigate or circumvent issues.  
• To explore the best approaches/genres that are appropriate for dealing with various types of medical issues.
• To sensitise the top management to the need for time and slot allocation for health communication. 

Participant’s Profile  

• Producers, reporters, and news editors.
• Must be in a position to use the knowledge gained in the workshop.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.