Gatefield Impact is inviting applications from Nigerian journalists for its inaugural Pro-Health Policy Journalism Fellowship.
The fellowship is an initiative of Gatefield Impact, a recipient of the Healthy Food Advocacy Fund. Gatefield Impact, through the National Action for Sugar Reduction, led advocacy efforts for the introduction of Nigeria’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, through the Finance Act on 31 December 2021. The purpose of the fellowship is to support 10 reporters and investigative journalists to gain the skills necessary to analyze and report on crucial health issues and provide relevant facts to the public, towards the greater goal of improving health outcomes in Nigeria.
The 2022Â journalism grant seeks to specifically provide support for reporters to produce high-quality, unbiased human angle, scientific, and investigative stories focused on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on health and economy.
- The health harms of SSBs and its link to non communicable diseases (NCDs)
- The economic benefits of taxation towards reducing SSBs consumption
- Other healthy food policies to reduce SSBs consumption and tackle NCDs
Eligibility
Fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis. Criteria for consideration include:
- Staff reporters and freelance journalists with work in recognized media organizations with track record of accurate, fair and responsible journalism
- Journalists with at least two years of experience working as a journalist and demonstrate strong writing skills
- Consideration will be given to journalists whose work reflects an interest in health, public policy, and the economy.
Benefits
The fellowship is a 6-month program beginning from September 2022. Selected fellows will create feature and editorial pieces on the SSB tax and policies. Story themes may center on diseases related to the consumption of SSBs; the costs of treatment; the economic impact of SSB consumption among Nigerian households or other topics of this nature.
- Journalists accepted into the Pro-Health Policy Journalism Fellowship will receive a grant of US $1000 (N415,000) each to support logistics required to participate in fellowship activities including the production of at least one long-form feature piece each over the 6-month period. Feature pieces can be produced for online, print, or broadcast media.
- The grant offers selected journalists the opportunity to learn from a seasoned investigative reporter, who will act as a sounding board for ideas, during a training session organized for successful applicants.
Program Components
The main components of the program are:
- Training workshop on journalistic practices and tools, including developing investigative reporting skills
- Professional mentoring from experts in public health, media and investigative journalism
- Independent work on a project to create a long-form feature piece
- Participation in periodic editorial discussions
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