Fellows of the ongoing Africa Disease Reporting Fellowship (ADReF) have called for collaborations between journalists, scientists, and communities and the need for media literacy in African society.
The call was made on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, during a panel discussion tagged “Decolonizing Health Journalism.”
Speaking on the need for collaboration among journalists and scientists of African descent, Mr. Ridwan Usman from Ghana said there is a need for collaboration beyond borders. He further stated that “the collaboration between the journalist and scientist must happen, and it must happen in a way that makes sense.”
Mr. Ridwan also noted that there is a need for media and communication training for scientists.
“Scientists must learn to communicate in a language that the journalist understands because the journalist has the responsibility of communicating scientific research to the local communities.
“There has been mistrust for vaccines by local communities since the colonial era. There is a need for a comprehensive discussion between journalists and scientists on the issues of social media, technology, and vaccines as they affect our society,” he further explained.
“It is not enough to want to tell their story. We need to hear their story, understand their fears, and educate them on the importance of certain vaccines,” another participant, Ms. Justina from Niger State, said.
In another discussion, the panellists called for the decolonizing of minds towards traditional medicine.
“We don’t give attention to trado-medical practice because we don’t see it as part of our medical sector,” Ms. Milliam Njeri, from Kenya, said.
Prof. Oga Steve Abah, who was the moderator of the panel, harped on the need to decolonise our minds about African medicine and accept it.
Ms. Nnenna Ibeh, from Nigeria, also reiterated the need to change mindsets about traditional medicine and to begin to advocate for it.
“We must come to terms with the fact that there is traditional medical science and Orthodox medical science,” she stated.
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