About 30 participants, including 20 journalists and 10 Community Health Department (CHD) officials, completed a two-day workshop on health reporting and communication in Lakes State.
The training, organized by South Sudan’s national and state health ministries, was held at Rumbek Hillview Hotel.
Mach Achiek, director of information, communication, and technology (ICT) at the national health ministry, said the workshop aimed to improve health reporting standards and discuss challenges in covering health issues.
“We trained journalists and CHD directors on proper health reporting and the use of digital tools,” Achiek told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday. “We also discussed the Health Transformation Project, a ministry initiative supported by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).”
He cautioned journalists against overreliance on artificial intelligence (AI) for reporting, emphasizing the need for verification. “AI can be misleading. Even if you use it, you must cross-check facts, especially in South Sudan’s context,” he said.
Achiek stressed that only the national health ministry can officially declare disease outbreaks, not state authorities. He urged journalists to report ethically and avoid misinformation, noting that health news directly impacts lives.
Maker Malok, director-general of Lakes State’s health ministry, said the workshop emphasized centralized communication channels. “Reporting should follow proper procedures—from county health departments to the state and then national level,” he said.
Malok cited an incident in December 2024 when a midwife made unverified claims on the radio, underscoring the need for accurate reporting.
Mayak Majak Madit, coordinator of the Union of Journalists (UJOSS) in Lakes State, said the training was interactive and called for more sessions. He warned journalists against unauthorized use of photos or videos and urged accurate reporting on health issues, including recent cholera cases in parts of the state.
The workshop was attended by journalists, CHD officials, and monitoring and evaluation officers from Lakes State’s eight counties.