TheCable

TheCable journalists — Rita Okonoboh and Jesupemi Are — have been selected for the maiden edition of the public health reporting fellowship organised by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).

The fellowship is a 14-month programme which allows selected journalists to focus on the twin challenges of health misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.

The fellowship is supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

Eighteen journalists from India and Nigeria were selected for the programme.

Okonoboh is currently the news editor of TheCable. Before joining the newspaper, she was a news editor with Sahara Reporters and a senior reporter for the Nigerian Tribune.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, both from the University of Ibadan, and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Ibadan, focusing on the intersections between literature and medicine.

On the other hand, Are started her journalism as a graduate intern with Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF) in 2020. Her work has also appeared in Guardian Nigeria Newspaper under its lifestyle magazine, and in BellaNaija.

She is currently a reporter at TheCable covering health and activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). She is passionate about shedding light on issues troubling the Nigerian public health sector and simplifying health topics in relatable terms.

Are holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial chemistry from Achievers University where she was the best graduating student in her department.

Other Nigerian journalists selected for the fellowship are Tunde Ajaja, journalist, Punch newspaper; Ojoma Akor, health editor, Daily Trust; Anibe Idajili, independent digital journalist; Allwell Okpi, researcher and community manager, Africa Check; Kolawole Omoniyi, news manager, Steam and Globe Broadcasting Limited; Yecenu Sasetu, reporter, Kiss FM; Ode Uduu, data journalist, Dataphyte; and Jennifer Ugwa, independent investigative reporter.

Indians selected for the fellowship are Sumitra DebRoy, reporter, Times of India; Abhijeet Gurjar, independent photojournalist; Mahima Jain, independent editor; Bobby Ramakant, reporter and member of Citizen News Service; Shreya Raman, independent data journalist; Anagha Sawant, senior sub-editor, Mid-Day; Shobha Shukla, executive director and managing editor, Citizen News Service; and Aradhna Wal, independent print and digital reporter.

Announcing the programme, Alana Barton, PRB media programme director, said the fellowship will allow journalists share data, experiences, and knowledge to solve global solutions.

“We’re excited to start this new, bold initiative with such a dynamic group of journalists,” Barton said.

“Global problems require collaborative solutions, and we believe PRB’s Public Health Reporting Corps opens up channels for sharing data, experiences and knowledge across boundaries to improve the breadth of public information and debate.”

PRB has launched its Public Health Reporting Corps with a group of 18 journalists based in #India and #Nigeria. The fellowship supports international journalists in investigating and documenting systemic #publichealth challenges and solutions. https://t.co/ckSDg90ocH @macfound

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— PRB (@PRBdata) September 29, 2022