HSA plans training for health journalists

The vice chancellor of the Health Services Academy (HSA), Islamabad, Dr Shahzad Ali Khan, has said that there is need for promoting “sensible reporting” in the area of health due to miscommunication on social media following the Covid-19 pandemic, and announced the conducting of training workshops and courses on health diplomacy and journalism for journalists in Pakistan on a regular basis.

“Being a premier institution of public health in Pakistan, it is the responsibility of the Health Services Academy (HSA) of Pakistan to promote responsible journalism in the area of health and we are ready to conduct training workshops and short courses for health journalists,” he said while talking to The News on Wednesday.

Quoting WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as having said that “we're not just fighting a pandemic; we're fighting an infodemic”, Dr Khan said a lot misinformation and fake news was being spread through social media, but mainstream media persons were unable to answer the queries of people to their satisfaction due to lack of capacity and awareness of health issues.

“At the HSA, we are planning training workshops, initially for health journalists to train them on various issues of public health, communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as pressing health issues facing the world, this region, and most importantly facing Pakistan”, he said, adding that the first such workshop would be held in Islamabad by the end of July or start of August this year, which would be attended by prominent journalists from across Pakistan.