The "Communicating Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) Media Training and Fellowship Programme" is an initiative that aims to increase the quantity and quality of media stories and content about NCDs, their risk factors, including prevention, control, risks, impacts, achievements, emerging concerns of cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes in the Western Pacific Region.
The project is carried out by the Probe Media Foundation, Inc. (PMFI) and the Reporting ASEAN Programme and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office.
The project from December 2023 to May 2024 consisted of two main activities:
Two-day intensive media training for journalists on the multi-faceted issue of NCDs
In December 2023, seventeen (17) journalists from Cambodia, China, Fiji, and the Philippines participated in the "Unpacking NCDs" media training. The training was designed to enhance their knowledge and understanding of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and improve their skills in creating data-driven and cross-sectoral reports on NCDs. Read the article here.
Four-month media fellowship program to strengthen reporting skills and encourage the production of media stories on the topic of NCDs.
After completing the training, five female journalists from the workshop applied for and were accepted into the "Communicating NCDs: Saving Lives Through Stories" Media Fellowship. Within five months, the journalists from Cambodia, China, Fiji, and the Philippines were able to create evidence-based, data-rich, and compelling videos, photos, and print stories. PMFI provided financial and editorial support and guidance. Their stories were either broadcast and published by May 2024 or scheduled for publication and airing at a later date in the media organization of their respective country.
View the NCD Media Fellows' outputs in the Resources Page
The "Communicating NCDs" initiative holds great potential because the media has the power to amplify messages about non-communicable diseases (NCDs). During the December 2023 media training welcome remarks, Dr. Hiromasa Okayasu, director of the Division of Healthy Environments and Populations of the WHO WPRO said, “As journalists, you play a pivotal role in this transformation by disseminating accurate information, promoting health-enabling social and physical environments, and communicating evidence-based interventions to address the challenge of rising NCDs.”
By the end of the project, the estimated potential audience of the media outputs from the Communicating NCDs Fellowship reaches millions ofviewers and readers across the different countries. PMFI strongly believes that investing in journalist training and providing support for high-quality media coverage of NCDs will enhance public awareness and understanding of the prevention, control, risks, impacts, achievements, and emerging concerns of cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes. This will ultimately lead to better decision-making on policies, health promotion, self-management, and relevant action.
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