By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
BEITBRIDGES’ status as one of Zimbabwe and region’s busiest migration corridors requires health journalists to go beyond routine reporting and provide communities and migrants with accurate, timely and practical information, stakeholders have said.
The call was made during a two-day training workshop for journalists on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) at Migration Corridors.
The workshop was facilitated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The training brought together journalists and health stakeholders to strengthen reporting on health issues affecting migrants, women, young people and other vulnerable groups.
Speaking at the close of the workshop, Rex Mphisa a senior journalist said the engagement provided journalists with valuable knowledge on how to effectively cover health issues affecting communities along the migration corridor.
“The workshop has been very informative, enlightening participants about reporting on health and migration issues,” he said.
Regular engagements between journalists and health and migration professionals are necessary to ensure that communities received accurate information timeously.
“These meetings are important. We encourage such interactions to be continuous so that the communities we serve get proper information about migration, health and HIV and AIDS subjects,” said Mphisa.
He had been invited to comment on the take aways for journalists at the workshop.
Mphisa said the training helped journalists understand how to communicate sensitive health issues appropriately.
“We now know how to communicate properly,” he said.
The timing of the workshop was significant given Beitbridge’s experience as a major migration hub.
The district was also at the front door when close to
100 000 of Zimbabweans were repatriated from South Africa.
The mass movement of the rspatriates placed Beitbridge at the epi-centre of humanitarian, migration and public health responses, reinforcing the need for health information that reaches people while they are on the move.
Speaking at the end of the training, IOM National Programme Officer for Migration and Health, Dr Nyashadzashe Makova, encouraged journalists to practise responsible reporting and use their platforms to educate communities on health issues.
Dr Makova stressed the importance of ensuring that health information reaching the public is accurate, understandable and sensitive to the circumstances of migrants and other vulnerable groups.
He encouraged journalists to report health issues in ways that promote awareness without creating fear, stigma or misinformation.
In his closing remarks, Beitbridge District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere said the workshop created an important platform for closer collaboration between health professionals and the media.
“Our engagements on health reporting had not been formally done with journalists ,” Dr Samhere said.
“It is my hope and belief that as we leave this place, we will give each other maximum cooperation,” he said.
For Beitbridge, such cooperation is particularly important because health information must reach a population that is constantly moving across communities and national borders.
The challenge, therefore, is not only to provide health services, but also to ensure that people on the move know where to seek help, how to prevent illness and how to continue accessing treatment and other essential services.
Beitbridge is Zimbabwe’s major land gateway to South Africa and experiences significant movement of migrants, travellers, traders and returning residents.
The district played a central role during the recent repatriation period, when thousands of Zimbabweans returned from South Africa through the border town.
The large-scale movement placed additional pressure on systems providing humanitarian and health-related assistance and highlighted the importance of clear communication during migration and emergency situations.
Beitbridge also carries a significant HIV burden, with recent National AIDS Council figures placing the district among those with the highest HIV prevalence in Matabeleland South.
The district’s combination of high population mobility, cross-border movement and HIV vulnerability makes specialised and responsible health reporting essential.
As people continue to cross through Beitbridge every day, stakeholders say health information must move with them.