In a bid to enhance efforts at achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) target by 2030, some selected journalists have been trained on the Community Scorecard (CSC) initiative.
This is an initiative which assesses facilities in a particular community.
The two-day training workshop organized by the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), the Ghana Health Service and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), aimed at enhancing journalists’ skills in tracking and reporting on healthcare delivery at the local level.
Led by experienced trainers, journalists were taken through topics such as:
• Ghana’s Primary healthcare system and understanding the CHPS concept.
• Expertise France Community Scorecard project.
• Ghana’s community scorecard
• Accessing data and information from the community scorecard web platforms.
• Media ethics and reporting on vulnerable groups(T.B patients &women, PLWA)
• The role of the media in the CSC project
Through interactive sessions and group exercises, journalists gained hands-on experience in using the Community Score Card (CSC) tool to assess healthcare services in their communities.
The Executive Director of AMMREN, Dr. Mrs. Charity Binka noted that journalists are crucial in amplifying community voices hence the training to empower them to demand accountability and improve healthcare outcomes.
According to her, achieving the UNC target is crucial and Ghana is not performing too well in its efforts, so journalists need to be empowered with information to foster advocacy, education and awareness creation among the populace.
“Knowledge is power and for many of the journalist here, this is the first time they are hearing about the CSC. We are the eyes and ears of the people and so we need to be informed on how this scorecard works. We think if they are enlightened and to move forward in all efforts to promote quality healthcare, then we need to engage the journalist. Without them we cannot do the work. This community score card initiative, the CHPS and the new initiative the Network of Practice are all important initiatives that the journalists need to acquire skills on. We wanted to connect them to the experts too so that they can have easy access to them for information on their reportage,” she said.
Deputy Director in charge of policy at the Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Andrew Ayim on his part noted that the media are very critical for how they disseminate information bordering on health, hence bringing them together to discuss the community scorecard, to help report on the gaps between the community and the health systems.
Although he had concerns with how the media sometimes report on the negatives of the health system, he believes it can get better.
“The journalists can help report or bridge the gap between the community and the health systems by understanding the communities, also understanding the health system, and reporting in a balanced way that helps the community and the health systems to grow together and become better for the country, so that the health of the people can improve and we will achieve our Universal Health Coverage target. I think sometimes the negative report is too much, but we believe that we can continue to work to balance the report out so that value, the reporting on good health in the community.” He explained.
Equipped with knowledge and skills, the journalists are expected to return to their newsrooms, ready to inform and inspire their audiences, fostering a culture of transparency and accountability in Ghana’s healthcare system.
The training was on the theme: “Effective Use of the Media to Scale up Universal Health Coverage.”
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