SYDNEY SAIZE IN MUTARE
The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) in partnership with Plan International has capacitated the media in Manicaland Province with knowledge on health issues for easier dissemination.
The media engagement came at a time when cases of sexual abuse, early pregnancies are on the increase in the country.
The ZNFPC Manicaland Manager Dyson Masvingise said the media training workshop would help in a greater way for accurate reporting and ensuring journalists help spread and educate the citizenry about Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Rights among other issues.
‘’We saw it prudent to engage the media in raising awareness among the people on the importance of sexual reproductive health, and as well as capacitating the scribes on objective reporting,’’ Masvingise said.
Beauty Makotore of Plan International said the media was a key player in achieving the goal of reaching out to far-fetched places with relevant information.
‘’In our outreach programs we found out that information is still on this subject of sexual reproductive health rights amongst the girl child. We have seen at least 5 000 girls dropping out of school owing to early pregnancies.
‘’We need to do more on raising awareness and the media is vital on this mission,’’ said Makotore.
The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, ZUJ Manicaland provincial secretary Farai Matebvu paid tribute to the organisers of the training stressing it was a necessary partnership and called for continued engagements.
‘’This partnership should be allowed to grow and taken further as the area of health reporting requires some kind of expertise that is simplified if we engage like we have done.
As journalists we hope to work together and forge new strategies to take the health story further in a simplified way for the readers, viewers and listeners,’’ Matebvu said.
