By Samuel Luka
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with the Bauchi State Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination and Journalists for Public Health and Development (J4PD), has commenced a two-day capacity building workshop for journalists on accurate and ethical reporting of its 9th Country Programme.
The training, which held on Friday at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Health, Bauchi, drew journalists from across the state and facilitators from UNFPA Abuja and Kaduna Sub-Office.
Declaring the workshop open, Executive Director of J4PD, Mrs. Elizabeth Kah, said the organisation leverages journalism and community engagement to promote sustainable development, with focus on vulnerable groups including women, youths and Persons Living with Disabilities.
Kah, whose organisation works in Sexual and Reproductive Health, Education, WASH, Gender-Based Violence, economic empowerment and climate change, disclosed that J4PD has been partnering with UNFPA since 2024 across the North-East, Kano, Niger, Plateau and the FCT.
She said the training is designed to deepen journalists' understanding of UNFPA's programmes from 70 per cent to 100 per cent for more accurate and responsible reporting.
In his goodwill message, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Shehu Usman Shehu, who was represented by the Director of Information, Mohammed Sani Umar, commended UNFPA and J4PD for the initiative.
Shehu described the media as a strategic partner in public enlightenment, policy advocacy and sustainable development, and urged practitioners to report issues around Sexual and Reproductive Health, GBV and youth development with professionalism, sensitivity and respect for the dignity and privacy of survivors.
"The Bala Mohammed-led administration recognises the important role of the media in advancing development and remains committed to promoting effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the interest of our people," he said.
In his presentation, UNFPA Gender and GBV Specialist, Dr. Musa Elisha, charged journalists to reframe GBV and reproductive health as human rights and social justice issues, not just isolated events.
Elisha outlined three strategic roles for the media to include advocacy, making life-saving services such as referral centres and safe spaces visible, and engaging decision makers including traditional and religious leaders to change harmful social norms.
He urged journalists to subject every story to a simple test before publishing: "Does my story advance human rights? Does it enable the population to access life-saving services?"
Also speaking, UNFPA Gender Analyst, Zubaida Abubakar, presented data showing a sharp rise in GBV prevalence in Nigeria, with some forms of intimate partner violence increasing from seven per cent in 2013 to 26 per cent in 2023.
Abubakar expressed concern over low help-seeking behaviour, noting that most survivors confide only in relatives and friends rather than reporting to formal health or security services.
According to her, intimate partners - current and former husbands and boyfriends - remain the major perpetrators, contrary to the assumption that perpetrators are mainly strangers. She also raised alarm over violence during pregnancy, which she said has grave implications for maternal and child health.
In another session on positive masculinity and ethical GBV reporting, State Coordinator of the Young Men's Network Against GBV, Bauchi, Rex Ojochegbe Stephen, cautioned against sensational headlines and exonerating language such as "he lost control" or "she provoked him" which shift blame from perpetrator to survivor.
Stephen listed six roles of the media in promoting positive masculinity - to inform, hold power to account, educate, show solutions, amplify voices safely, and mobilise responsibly - while observing ethical safeguards including informed consent, protection of identity, verification of facts and inclusion of referral information.
The training featured technical sessions on the overview of UNFPA's 9th Country Programme, family planning, maternal health, adolescent and youth programming, results-based reporting and identification of key messages, with interactive discussions on improving UNFPA programme reporting in Bauchi State.
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