By Yiep Joseph
President of Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), Oyet Patrick has appealed to media owners to provide health insurance for their journalists.
Mr. Oyet made the appeal during a two-day media orientation workshop for journalists, organized by the National Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Our media houses should help us to have health insurance for our journalists,” Oyet appealed
The UJOSS president stressed that health insurance is a vital benefit media houses should offer their journalists.
“There is a need for media houses to conduct general checkups for their journalists, even once a year,” he said.
He expressed concerns over the impact of health-related issues on journalists, revealing that the union has lost three young journalists in the past six months alone.
He urged health experts to guide journalists in regularly monitoring their health.
Health insurance is a contract in which a company agrees to cover a portion of a consumer’s medical expenses. For individuals and families, health insurance enhances access to health services and provides financial protection.
In addition to advocating for health insurance, the UJOSS president emphasized the importance of fair compensation for media professionals.
Oyet highlighted the prevalent issue of low wages and delayed salary payments, urging media managers to ensure decent remuneration for their staff.
Angela Travis, UNICEF Head of Communication, stated that the workshop would help address misinformation in the media regarding health issues.
“You fulfill an important role in society, to inform society. So, there is a lot of misinformation around health, like during COVID-19,” Ms. Travis said.
For his part, Dr. Garang Anthony commended the collaboration with UJOSS, emphasizing its role in raising awareness about critical health issues in South Sudan.
He added that the orientation workshop would equip journalists with the necessary data and information to facilitate their reporting.
Garang appealed to journalists to seek information from health experts or specialists in particular fields to obtain accurate data for publication.
According to the Union president, the three-year project, supported by multiple donors, will continue training journalists on ethical health reporting and will recognize outstanding work through a Health Reporting category in the annual UJOSS Excellence Awards.
The workshop aims to provide journalists with an in-depth understanding of the Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP)—the first-ever government-led project—its funding landscape, and key health interventions, including maternal and child health, immunization, and health systems strengthening.