By Foday Moriba Conteh

In the heart of one of Africa’s fastest‑growing cities, Lagos in Nigeria, journalists and civil society leaders from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria gathered for a two‑phase regional workshop that promises to reshape health reporting across West Africa. The training held from 16 to 20 June and again from 23 to 27 June 2025, took place under the banner: “Breaking Down Barriers,” a programme organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in partnership with the Global Fund.

Throughout the intensive sessions the participants immersed themselves in discussions on digital storytelling, legal protection, ethical reporting and journalist safety, all through the lens of human rights. Guiding them were seasoned facilitators such as BBC journalist Sammy Awami and News Agency of Nigeria Editor, Racheal Abujah, whose expertise anchored each discussion in practical newsroom realities.

From the outset the organizers urged a departure from event‑driven coverage toward people‑centred narratives that illuminate the lived experiences behind the statistics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Ghanaian broadcaster Kwaku Asante of Joy Media House captured the mood when he described the experience as a moment of clarity that reconnects the profession to the communities it serves.

Veteran Nigerian health writer, Sam Eferaro, added historical weight, reminding colleagues how language has evolved from stigmatizing phrases like “AIDS victim” to more humane descriptions, yet he cautioned that depth and local ownership are still missing in many reports. Recalling a Ghanaian story that overlooked verification of a claimed HIV commodity shortage, he challenged reporters to go beyond hearsay and hold themselves to the highest standards even when working under the strain of tight budgets and long hours.

Health correspondent, Bukola Adebayo, of the Thomson Reuters Foundation highlighted the vital role of grassroots civil society organisations. She urged reporters to amplify these local efforts, pointing to community groups that run mobile HIV clinics along Sierra Leone’s coastline, peer networks tracing tuberculosis cases in Nigeria’s Nasarawa State and Nigerian innovators who are developing rapid malaria test kits. With donor funding in decline, she argued, visibility for those initiatives has become more critical than ever.

Civil society leader Abdul Razak Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer of the West African AIDS Foundation, echoed that call. He stressed the need for inclusive language that exposes hidden barriers faced by key populations and pledged deeper collaboration with newsrooms to confront discriminatory systems.

Field testimonies brought the challenges into sharp focus. Tuberculosis survivor and microbiologist Hafsat Abdulhamid from northern Nigeria spoke of witnessing children cough in remote villages, a moment that turned abstract inequity into urgent reality. From Liberia came the voice of Blessing Thomas, a Monrovia‑based sex worker and peer educator, who described how stigma from some health workers deters her colleagues from seeking lifesaving services. She appealed directly to journalists to confront harmful stereotypes and tell stories that protect the vulnerable.

Racheal Abujah steered sessions on digital formats that engage policymakers and local audiences alike. She encouraged the use of infographics, short videos and social‑media question‑and‑answer threads that distil complex health data for readers with limited literacy. Najraana Imaan, Legal Project Manager at TrustLaw, outlined a checklist for reporters facing intimidation and introduced the Foundation’s pro bono legal support network.

The Global Fund’s human rights team reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling barriers to care through its Breaking Down Barriers initiative, which is active in all four represented countries. The team announced an expanded youth‑led programme that will offer mentorship, micro‑grants and storytelling platforms across West Africa and Southeast Asia to nurture a new generation of health reporters and advocates.

For Sierra Leonean journalist, Esther Kadie Tarawally, the experience transformed her view of health coverage. She plans to launch a TikTok campaign encouraging HIV self‑testing among teenage girls, revealing how the workshop seeded immediate ideas for change.

Thomson Reuters Foundation Programme Manager Cosmas Miguel Tabuche closed the final session with a rallying cry for universal health coverage powered by storytelling that reflects the voices of real people. He reminded participants that reporters, civil society groups and youth leaders must stand together on the front lines of this narrative revolution.

Before departing Lagos, selected attendees received an invitation to pitch joint stories under a mini‑grant scheme financed by the Global Fund, complete with editorial mentorship from senior Thomson Reuters editors. As they left the conference room, delegates pledged to strengthen newsroom‑CSO partnerships, spotlight under‑reported threats such as tuberculosis and malaria, harness innovative digital tools and above all infuse every report with empathy, ethics and respect.

The Lagos workshop ended with a collective vow to keep dismantling the barriers that silence marginalized voices. In the coming months the impact will be measured not only by published articles but by the trust built between reporters and communities across West Africa. https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/journalists-and-csos-unite-in-lagos-to-champion-human-rights-through-health-storytelling/