Participants at the end of a two-day Capacity-Building Workshop on Evidence-Based Health Reporting have called for the institutionalization of regular capacity-building programmes for journalists to strengthen accurate, ethical, and data-driven health reporting in Kaduna State.
The recommendation formed part of a communiqué issued at the close of the workshop organized by the Kaduna State Ministry of Health in collaboration with ISMPH, the EngenderHealth Consortium Partnership, and the Unified Health Media Network.
Participants urged sustained collaboration among the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board (KSPHCB), civil society organizations, development partners—including the USAID Integrated Health Programme (IHP) and EngenderHealth—and professional media networks such as the Kaduna Health Advocacy and Media Alliance (KADHAMA) to continuously build the capacity of journalists.
The communiqué also recommended improving public access to timely, reliable, and user-friendly health data through the routine publication of accountability scorecards, dashboards, and health performance reports to promote transparency and informed public discourse.
Participants further encouraged journalists to produce audience-centred health stories using plain language, contextual analysis, infographics, and visual performance indicators such as green, amber, and red status ratings to make complex health information more understandable to the public.
The workshop emphasized the need to strengthen collaboration between media practitioners and health institutions to facilitate timely information sharing, improve fact-checking processes, and promote responsible health reporting.
It also advocated for increased investment in investigative, solutions-focused, and advocacy-driven journalism capable of exposing gaps in healthcare delivery while highlighting practical interventions and best practices that improve health outcomes.
To sustain momentum, participants recommended the establishment of quarterly dialogue platforms bringing together journalists, health institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners to periodically review health sector performance and discuss emerging evidence.
Earlier, participants reaffirmed that evidence-based journalism remains critical to strengthening public trust, combating misinformation, and improving healthcare delivery. They pledged to move beyond routine event reporting by producing analytical and investigative stories anchored on verified health data, including Integrated Supportive Supervision findings, Primary Health Care Accountability Scorecards, PHC Facility Assessment Tool reports, RMNCAH+N indicators, and other credible datasets.
The communiqué further recognized the District Health Information System (DHIS2) and the Health Facility Assessment (HEFA) Dashboard as Kaduna State's standardized sources of verified health information and urged journalists to consistently verify data before publication while providing proper context for statistics.
Participants also reaffirmed the media's strategic role in promoting accountability, welcomed the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board's commitment to an open-door policy for access to verified health information, and stressed the importance of stronger community ownership of Primary Health Care Centres across the state.
The workshop concluded with participants expressing appreciation to the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, ISMPH, the EngenderHealth Consortium Partnership, the Unified Health Media Network, facilitators, development partners, and other stakeholders for supporting the initiative.
They pledged to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the training to promote accurate, ethical, evidence-based, advocacy-driven, and solutions-oriented health reporting that will strengthen accountability, improve health service delivery, and contribute to better health outcomes in Kaduna State and across Nigeria.