Press Releases

Internews-trained Journalist Wins UNESCO's HIV/AIDS Media Award

Internews Kenya Kenyan journalist Ndu Okoh (left) and runner-up Anne Waithera of Kenya's Citizen Radio (right) won awards for their reporting on HIV/AIDS. Internews Kenya Resident Advisor Mia Malan is center.

(December 3, 2003) A Kenyan journalist and graduate of Internews’ “Local Voices” media training program has just received UNESCO's HIV/AIDS Red Ribbon Media Award for Excellence in Journalism in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Ndu Okoh of Family Radio, a Christian radio station in Nairobi, won the award in the radio journalism category for her feature on a Muslim community’s response to HIV/AIDS in Mombasa. The award recognizes media professionals for their exceptional contributions to society by writing, reporting and producing programs on HIV and AIDS in a manner that raises awareness, combats stigma and gives hope and solidarity to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Family Radio was doing very little coverage on HIV/AIDS before Ndu Okoh attended an Internews "Local Voices" training held in July 2003 in Nairobi, Kenya. The "Local Voices" project trains radio journalists, talk show hosts and DJs in Kenya and Nigeria to improve reporting on HIV/AIDS with the goal of creating a more supportive environment for preventing and mitigating the impact of the epidemic.

The project also provides travel grants to allow journalists to investigate HIV/AIDS stories outside the capital city, something for which the local radio stations often don't have resources. After completing the Internews training, Ndu Okoh was awarded a travel grant to go to Mombasa and research a piece on Muslims and HIV/AIDS.

After Family Radio aired Ndu Okoh's story, there was an outpouring of support and interest from the Christian listeners, which took the radio station by surprise.

Local Voices is supported by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development.

Transcript of Ndu Okoh's story on HIV/AIDS in Mombasa, Kenya