The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is offering 10 journalists fellowships to produce investigative reports on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.
Nearly 6 million South Africans are suffering from HIV – among them 3.2 million women and 280,000 children, UNAIDS estimates.
With funding from M•A•C AIDS Fund, the project will offer 10 experienced South African reporters one-on-one coaching with media trainers and stipends to conduct interviews and in-depth research. The M•A•C AIDS Fund has donated more than $8 million to HIV/AIDS programs in South African in the last decade.
Four training sessions in 2011 will bring together experts in the fields of journalism and HIV/AIDS to coach these journalists. From 30 to 40 investigative reports will be produced by the fellows, and South African new media, broadcast and print outlets will spotlight their reports.
Under the IWMF’s transformative training model, these trained investigative reporters will work with editors and management to improve news reporting on HIV/AIDS. Key features of the training model include:
- Continuous training
- Buy-in and a commitment of institutional support from top management
- Empowerment of women journalists
- Training provided by journalists and experts with a focus on health and gender issues.
For more information, please contact Roshani Kothari at rkothari@iwmf.org.