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Health Journalism Fellowship - An Overview

 


Media plays an essential role in mainstreaming the discourse on health systems and making it a social and political priority beyond times of crisis. Whether it is disseminating health information, promoting the importance of hand hygiene, maintaining social distancing during disease outbreaks, or taking personal measures for the prevention of non-communicable diseases, media is always critical. 

In March 2022, HSTP organized a webinar with journalists about their experiences and challenges in covering aspects of the Indian health system. In the webinar, the participants drew attention to issues that restrict reporting on health systems in the Indian media, ways to incentivize public health journalism through awards and recognition, and the need to introduce fellowship programs to support young journalists. Opportunities like journalism fellowships that may enable an ecosystem of information exchange between the stakeholders working towards better health outcomes were also emphasized.

In August 2022, HSTP introduced the 'HSTP - Health Journalism Fellowship' program. The purpose was to provide young journalists with a learning opportunity on healthcare and Indian health systems, encourage them to critically investigate public health issues and report in a more informed and nuanced manner. 
  • This program offers a learning opportunity to journalists on healthcare and health systems issues
  • It builds a bridge between the public health community and the media 
  • The program helps highlight and improve coverage of healthcare and health systems issues in the media beyond crises
  • It aims for increased public awareness and discussion of healthcare and health systems issues 
First Batch: Journalism Fellowship
The first batch of the fellowship selected five journalists for the six months from October 2022 to April 2023, and each was offered a grant.

Ms. Aishwarya Mohanty (freelance journalist from Bhubaneswar, Odisha): Her media series, titled ‘Odisha’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups,’ highlighted the difficulties in accessing healthcare and community understanding of health and health-related issues by interacting with the PVTGs community in Odisha. Aishwarya interacted with PVTGs living in remote villages in the Odisha districts of Malgankiri (Bondas and Didayis tribe), Rayagada (Dongria Kondh and Lanjia Soura tribe), and Kandhmal (Kutia Kondh tribe).  

Ms. Azeefa Fathima (full-time journalist at The News Minute from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala). Her media series, titled ‘Access Denied’, looked into the multiple layers of health issues faced by sex workers, transgenders and intersex children from Kerala. Azeefa travelled to Chennai, Thrissur, Kottayam and in Thiruvananthapuram to interact with the community. 

Ms. Sneha Richhariya (freelance journalist from Noida, Uttar Pradesh): Her media series, titled ‘Acid attack’, discussed systemic health issues that acid attack survivors face to regain their vision, explore skin scarring, mental health concerns and health systems response for survivors of acid attack. She travelled with acid attack survivors to Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Uttar Pradesh and in Delhi NCR to document their experiences in the healthcare system. 

For her series, Sneha won in the ‘Best Text Reporting on Human Rights & Religious Freedom 2023' category at The HRRF Journalism Awards

Ms. Taran Kaur Deol (full-time journalist at DowntoEarth from Gurgaon, Haryana). Her media series, titled ‘Ayurveda’, focused on the state of Ayurveda education and practice, and how the drug regulation for Ayurveda has evolved. 


Here are HSTP's Health Journalism Fellows for 2024 and the topics they have chosen to cover:
  • Hameeda Syed, freelance journalist, reporting on Geriatric Care in India 
  • Jyoti Thakur, freelance journalist, reporting on Malaria as a public health problem in India 
  • Imaad ul Hasan, freelance journalist, reporting on the health of unsheltered persons in New Delhi 
  • Pallav Jain, freelance journalist, reporting on biomedical waste management in urban and rural areas of Madhya Pradesh 
Keep an eye on this space to know more about their journey with our fellowship program!



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