Journalists need to move away from passive reporting on health to become advocates so as to help the public better understand these issues and make the necessary changes, PAHO/WHO Country Representative Dr Kathleen Israel said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the organisation’s 14th and 15th health media awards ceremony at the Cara Lodge, Dr Israel noted that many of the stories that won awards last year and this year were those that put human faces to diseases. She also noted that communicable diseases had always been the focus, but over the years non-communicable diseases have been recognised regionally and globally as presenting major problems. She pointed out that non-communicable diseases could be avoided mainly through healthy lifestyles, which can be advocated by media workers.
It has been proven a myth that non-communicable diseases are problems only in rich countries, because it has been proven that these same diseases account for some 80% of deaths in poorer countries, Israel said. The rich countries have exported some of their cultures – such as eating fast food and smoking – into the poorer countries and these contribute to many non-communicable diseases.
While HIV remains a major problem in poorer countries, it is not the leading cause of death in these countries, Israel said, adding she is not advocating that resources be removed from HIV/AIDS programmes but that there should be a balance of resources to fight all diseases. She presented figures that showed AIDS at number five in the ten leading causes of death in Guyana with heart disease and cerebrovascular disease at number one and two.
She said Caribbean people need to be educated to eat healthy and they should be pointed in the direction of eating the produce they grow instead of trying to use imported foods, some of which are not healthy at all.
Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy remarked that the health sector of any country should attempt to influence the agenda of the media and this is what his ministry has been attempting to do.
He announced that come next year his ministry will sponsor a specific award for health reporting to be judged simultaneously with the PAHO entries.
In the ministry’s drive to reach the public on health issues, Ramsammy said, it will have doctors on both radio and television for one hour a week starting in January, speaking directly to the public, educating them and clearing up misconceptions.
According to the minister, issues such as domestic violence, sexual abuse and other crimes have all become a major part of mortality in the public health sector. He said that too often the public health sector is left out of such issues when it really should be actively involved in finding solutions to them.
Ramsammy also noted that traffic accidents have emerged as one of the top causes of death and disability worldwide as speeding on the roadways has become the national pastime even in countries where strict traffic laws exist. He said while the media has been placing emphasis on health issues, more needs to be done.
PAHO’s Health Pro-motions Officer Rene Franklin-Peroune said that in 2006 some 25 entries were received, but most of these were from newspapers; there was none from radio and only one from television. She said this has been the trend for the past four years and should be addressed since all media report on health.
The trend continued this year with no entries from either television or radio. However, there was an increase in regional entries, which, according to Franklin-Peroune, was a plus.
PAHO also hopes to find ways to assist journalists to enter the competition, Franklin-Peroune said, adding that both she and the judges felt that the entries this year were not a reflection of what they saw reported during the year.
Stabroek News’s reporters Oluatoyin Alleyne and Iana Seales won the two national awards this year. Seales won the top award in the Best News Story – Print Category for “Local Heart Institute makes history with angioplasties” and Alleyne won the top award in the Best Feature Article or Series – Print Category for “Alcoholism: the killer”.
Seales also captured the second place in the category she won. Melanie Allicock of Kaieteur News was adjudged third in that category and also took the second and third place awards in the category won by Alleyne.
In 2006, Allicock took the top prize in the Best News Story – Print Category, while Ruel Johnson of the Guyana Chronicle won in the Best Feature Article Category. Last year also, three Stabroek News reporters won PAHO national awards, while Guyana carted off three regional prizes. Alleyne, Seales and Christopher Yaw had gained awards in the Best Story on any Non-Communicable Disease Category; PANOS award for the Best HIV Story by a Guyanese journalist Category and Best Story on Disaster Preparedness Category respectively.
Alleyne won for an article titled “Girl 11 dies of ovarian cancer”. Seales won for her article, “Poor nutrition, poverty may be affecting HIV patients” and Yaw for his article, “Abary drainage slow”.
