UNICEF tasks journalists on ethical reporting to protect children’s rights

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged journalists to embrace ethical and responsible reporting to protect children’s rights and promote social reform in Nigeria.

Dr Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, UNICEF Enugu Field Office Children’s Visibility and Reporting Communication Officer, made the call in Port Harcourt on Friday.

Onuoha-Ogwe spoke on the sideline of a two-day zonal training for 40 media professionals drawn across 10 states.

She said UNICEF had spent nearly two decades developing systems to ensure that children remained central to public discourse and government policies.

The officer said that the organisation began the initiative by partnering with universities to integrate child rights into journalism and mass communication curricula.

“For almost two decades, we started with academic partners and universities.

‘’We mainstreamed a child rights curriculum into mass communication and journalism programmes,” she said.

Onuoha-Ogwe said the initiative had recorded significant uptake among partner universities, with many establishing dedicated courses aligned with UNICEF’s child rights objectives.

She said UNICEF, in partnering with the Federal Ministry of Information, introduced another phase in 2024 to train practicing journalists and freelancers.

“This new aspect is about capacity building. We developed detailed two-day training modules to drive ethical, effective and quality reporting on issues concerning children,” she said.

The UNICEF official said the Port Harcourt training brought together print and broadcast journalists to strengthen child-sensitive reporting and promote positive outcomes.

She expressed concern over increasing cases of poor reporting of child rights issues, saying the situation could improve when journalists applied appropriate reporting protocols.

Onuoha-Ogwe stressed the need to give children consistent visibility in public discourse, particularly because of their vulnerability and status as minors.

“Child rights fulfilment is the duty of all key stakeholders. There is a great need for advocacy that will help government and society deliver on those rights,” she added.

She said the UNICEF Enugu Field Office would continue to collaborate with the media, academia and government to keep children’s issues visible, protected and prioritised.

On of the trainees, Ms Constance Iroele of Kids FM 101.7, Port Harcourt, described the training as a refresher and reorientation for media practitioners.

“As a station for children and families, this training has opened my eyes to better ways of reporting child rights issues,” she said.

Ireole said the training exposed her to new protocols for handling child-sensitive issues in spite of her more than 10 years of professional experience.

She urged UNICEF to extend the training to radio presenters, who frequently anchor discussions, and source stories from social media.

The media professional called for stronger government collaboration with UNICEF to reach more communities facing challenges in child development.

“I applaud UNICEF for what they are doing. Government should wake up because there is a lot to be done in handling child-sensitive issues,” ireole said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

*The Battle for the Throne of Ata Igala Shifted to the Appeal Court As Prince Ocholi Idakwo Ameh Oboni 111 of Aju Ocholi Dissatisfied with Kogi High Court Judgement*

Image
The Battle For The Throne of Ata Igala and The Claims of Prince Ocholi Idakwo Ameh Oboni III By: Ochedi Shaibu Udale, Aju Akumabi Royal Lineage, Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria. Part 2: The Battle For The Throne of Ata Igala and The Claims of Prince Ocholi Idakwo Ameh Oboni III  It is worth our information that, the Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja had earlier in a judgement delivered by Hon. Justice M.E Umar on February 13th, 2024, dismissed the case for lacking in merit.  However, the plaintiff, Prince Ocholi Idakwo Ameh Oboni III is insisting that the crux of the redress he seeks which lies in the Chieftaincy declaration partaning to the appointment/ascension to the throne of Ata Igala was yet to be answered. And that the closest the Hon. Justice came to doing that was when he held in his judgement thus:  "the legal notice No 2 of 2015 is not a new chieftaincy declaration."  If the above holds true of the said 2015 legal notice, what then was the legal and tradit...
Read more

City Boy Movement Holds Inaugural Meeting in Lokoja, Charges Members to Mobilise for Tinubu–Ododo Re-Election

Image
  City Boy Movement Holds Inaugural Meeting in Lokoja, Charges Members to Mobilise for Tinubu–Ododo Re-Election The City Boy Movement for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has held its inaugural meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State, with a strong call on members to mobilise eligible voters ahead of the 2027 general elections. Members of the movement urged eligible voters across the state to take advantage of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and e-registration exercise to enable them participate effectively in delivering victory for President Tinubu and Governor Ododo in their second-term bids. Speaking at the meeting held over the weekend, the Kogi State Director of the City Boy Movement, Hon. Chief Mark Okpanachi Ogah, charged members to remain committed and proactive. He vowed that the movement would intensify mobilisation, sensitisation, and grassroots engagement across the state in support of the Tinubu–Ododo ticket. Hon. Ogah...
Read more

Ukomu Igala kogi State chapter elected New Executive Officers to run it's Affairs

Image
Ukomu Igala Organization Lokoja Chapter has elected New Executive Officers  to run it's affairs for the next years with a call to be united for the progress of the organization. In a message to the inauguration ceremony in Lokoja, the  National Leader of the organization,  Retired Major General J.A Ataguba said the Ukomu Igala was idea borne out of conviction to ensure development closer to the people  of Igala kingdom . The inauguration ceremony which coincided with the end of the year get together explained that the Igala as ninth largest  local government in west Africa would not be lagging behind in it political activities. Retired Major General J A Ataguba who was represented by the Administrative Secretary of the organization, Ahmed Hussein explained that the Ukomu Igala has worked tirelessly in recent times through establishment of Military Formation in Ogidibege junction in kogi East through the help of the Defence Ministry. Retired Major General J A Ata...
Read more