Information Saves Lives: Health Response Fund

The government’s recent lifting of the public health emergency brought COVID19 back to news headlines, but now is not the time to lose momentum. The virus continues to affect the lives of millions, even as news coverage and data sources are declining. Affordable testing is becoming less and less accessible, and only 17 percent of all Americans sought out the most recent bivalent booster as of May 10, says the CDC. 

As the world of public health evolves and the instances of emergencies related to health, climate, and their intersection will only continue to increase in frequency, Internews and Internews’ Health Journalism Network remain committed to building health reporting capacity and skills in marginalized and vulnerable communities globally. 

Since our last report, we’ve: 

• Announced our Mercury Phoenix Trust HIV/AIDS Reporting Fellows: ten mid-career/senior level health and science reporters who will receive fellowships (of $1,000 USD each) to look at new, unique or underreported angles of HIV/AIDS with a particular focus on innovative science research that leads to policy and action. 
• Published more resources for journalists, including a guide to reporting on the human papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine to prevent Cervical Cancer. 
• Hosted a World Malaria Day event on Twitter Spaces, moderated by HJN member and Nigerian radio journalist, Babatunde Okunlola.
• Facilitated a virtual media dialogue, “Journalism in an Era of Epidemics: Reporting on Life Course Vaccinations” across the Balkan region. 
• Hosted “A shot of truth: an undertold story of hope against cervical cancer” webinar at the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) second annual conference in Bangkok, helping journalists explore in-depth HPV vaccination and cervical cancer reporting and identifying gaps in public dialogue. 

“Without information, there can be no awareness about vaccination, let alone across the lifespan. Information needs to be two-way and rooted in understanding and respect. The media not only conveys messages from medical personnel to the public, but it also uplifts the voices of marginalized groups to reach doctors.” 

- Dr. Dragoslav Popovic, immunization expert and World Health Organization Adviser 

We sincerely thank you for your donations, on behalf of our organization and the journalists serving their communities around the world. It wouldn’t be possible without you.  

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“The current global COVID-19 epidemic features mechanisms of delivery of scientific information that are frankly unprecedented, adding to pressure for proper interpretation by the media and public. It’s time to put information in the driver’s seat of global and national epidemic responses.” 

Laurie Garrett, Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism 

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Often, in times of health crisis, addressing urgent physical threats takes precedence, but information is just as important in both preventing health crises like COVID19, and recovering from the ongoing pandemic. 

However, Pandemic-weary journalists are having to cover other health stories including mpox, Ebola, polio, and measles outbreaks, while being challenged with finding new angles and hooks for the COVID-19 story. Some editors may feel the story is tired and are reluctant to take pitches from journalists. 

With this growing gap in mind, Internews is even more committed to combatting COVID19 mis and disinformation and empowering journalists across the world to report accurately on the COVID and health stories affecting their communities: 

• At the close of 2022, our Health Journalism Network published a guide for journalists on Keeping the COVID-19 Story on the news agenda. 
• In January, Internews launched our course: “Journalism in Situations of Crises, Emergencies and Disasters,” in Latin America, providingten $400 scholarships toparticipants who pass. Expanding the course to Latin America, with a focus on Peru, provides journalists a unique training opportunity in science, health and investigative journalism, including the role of COVID19 reporting in humanitarian disasters. 
• Also in January, we published The Power of News Media in Social and Behavior Change Communication, a media resource is intended to shed light on the role of the news media in SBC interventions. 

We’ve also hosted sessions: 

• calling journalists to report on getting vaccines to zero dose children in South Asia, 

• advising journalists on covering the cholera outbreak in Africa while debunking harmful mis and disinformation circulating the crisis,  
• and bringing together Indigenous leaders and journalists in Portuguese language to discuss the role of health workers, traditional medicine and COVID-19. 

We sincerely thank you for your donations, on behalf of our organization and the journalists serving their communities around the world. It wouldn’t be possible without you.