What Journalists Can Do in the Fight Against TB

In this opinion-based article, David Dickson names the two oft-quoted reasons for the upsurge in tuberculosis (TB): the reduced immunity caused by HIV/AIDS, and the rise of drug resistant strains of TB. While recognising the increasing attention to TB control by international agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and private foundations, he offers specifics about what more needs to be done. First, he names the need for more money to fill the funding gap for increasing TB prevention programmes. Second, he names raising awareness in both public and political communities.


The article cites the role journalists play in informing people "about the nature and extent of this disease, the shortcomings in current treatments and future possibilities for improved control. Properly informed journalism can also create public pressure to spur politicians into action. In the United States, public lobbying through the media — by groups formed to support research into specific diseases — is known to play a key role in persuading congress to boost funding for biomedical research."

However, in the developing world, as observed by the author, public lobbying is limited by lack of leverage over politicians, creating a need for journalistic efforts to call to the attention of policymakers the rise of TB. Factors contributing to a lack of news reporting on TB are: a) the disinterest of editors in publishing news that does not have sales appeal; and b) a lack of the training needed by journalists to handle such stories with expertise. Statistics show that HIV/AIDS receives high-profile coverage, with malaria ranked second, and with TB getting a fraction of the coverage. Another barrier is that the language of communicating medical research and public health information - generally English - is not understandable to those most threatened by TB.


Communication strategies cited by the author are gleaned from the work of the Maisha Yetu project in Africa, carried out by the International Women's Media Foundation. These have led to increased reporting (by <25-30 percent) of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB in Senegal, one of the project sites. The article concludes: "[T]he initiative has come up with a list of eight best practices for health reporting:

1. Persuade top editors and management to back health stories;
2. Raise the professionalism of health journalists through customised training programmes;
3. Build a professional niche for health journalists;
4. Share resources amongst journalists;
5. Diversify sources of information;
6. Report from outside of the newsroom;
7. Maintain regular contact with everyone involved in health projects at all levels; and
8. Learn to manipulate newsroom politics."