Tanga kicks off first health and media training project.
Project supported by the Commonwealth Media Development Fund and the Gates Foundation
Four flights and a short car journey took me from London to the Malaria Media training project in Tanga, Tanzinia. Not the most convenient place to hold a media training course but appropriate as Malaria was just a mosquito away; and I was one of the lucky ones who could afford to buy the modern medicine. Not a guarantee against the disease but certainly better off than most of the people living in these infested areas.
This one week workshop bringing together forty radio, television and newspaper journalists from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi, was the culmination of efforts from the CBA, CPU, and the Gates Malaria Project with the CBA's Colin Lloyd and Gates' Angela Dawson developing the idea early last year.
Several local and international malaria and media experts shared their knowledge with the participants including Jasper Ijumba, Deputy Director for the Centre for Enhancement of Effective Malaria Interventions, Alex Mitwa, Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme in Tanzania, Chrysostomo Rweyemamu, the training manager of the Habari Corporation, Gervas Moshiro from Radio Tanzania, Angela Dawson from the Gates Malaria Programme, and myself.
The week course also included visits to local hospitals to speak with both patients with malaria and the doctors.
The course finished up with a project from various groups of trainees "presenting" live radio and TV programmes on Malaria.
Most trainees said that they were not used to this kind of training. They noted that they really enjoyed the group participation which led to the mock radio and television programmes presented at the end of the course.
The second stage of the Malaria and Media training is going ahead in the Gambia in February. |  | | | | | | | course images | | | | | | |  | | | In Malawi, workshop participants interview community leaders to discuss health myths and concerns. | |  | | | In Kenya, participants learn, first hand, how to dip bed-nets. | |  | | | Botswana participants take the knowledge test. | |  | | | In the Gambia, a networking reception hosted by the British High Commissioner. | |  | | | On Friday, group presentations in Botswana are critiqued by trainers and invited guests | |  | | | In Lesotho, certificates of completion are presented by the Minister of Health. | |  | | All course participants are members of the Health and Media listserv... to this day, they continue to develop skills, share knowledge, and support one other.
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