The power of vaccines: essential training for journalists and bloggers in North Kivu
The Expanded Vaccination Program (EPI) recently organized a major training in Goma, North Kivu province, aimed at raising awareness among journalists, bloggers and child reporters on the importance of routine vaccination.
This initiative, supported by the organization PATH, aimed to mobilize participants in EPI efforts to reduce the number of children who have not received any vaccine doses or who have an incomplete vaccination schedule.
During the workshop, participants were trained in the basics of vaccines and immunization, as well as strategies for reaching unvaccinated children. Interview techniques were also taught to enable journalists to produce quality journalistic productions concerning health and vaccination.
Dr. Stéphanie Hans, doctor-coordinator of the EPI in North Kivu, underlined the importance of this training by highlighting the alarming figures: more than 400,000 children aged 0 to 29 months are not vaccinated in the region, that is about 30 to 40,000 new cases each month. However, thanks to catch-up vaccination campaigns, these figures have been reduced to 30,000 unvaccinated children.
It is important to highlight that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the five countries where two thirds of children have not received any vaccine dose. Nigeria is particularly affected with 2.2 million “zero-dose” children. Despite an increase in vaccination coverage in the DRC in recent years, the current rate of 45% remains below levels before the Covid-19 pandemic.
This training therefore offers a valuable opportunity for journalists and bloggers to play an active role in raising awareness about vaccination and helping to reduce the number of unvaccinated children.
In conclusion, routine vaccination is a crucial issue for public health, especially in regions like North Kivu where many children remain unvaccinated. Thanks to this training, journalists and bloggers can become key players in the promotion of vaccination and thus contribute to saving many lives