Media Resource and Advocacy Centre (MRAC)

The Media Resource and Advocacy Centre aims to promote health communication and science journalism in Nigeria. The Center offers the following services:

• Training on technical issues - science, health, technology, environment etc.
• Access to a reproductive health data bank, science experts, demographic and vital health statistics, and other services that are designed to improve scientific information flow to journalists and the general public.
• Media for Development Forum - a regular interaction between journalists, scientists, and NGOs for briefings on breakthroughs and new information on health.
• Unreported Development - a publication detailing developments and unusual occurrences in hard-to-reach communities in Nigeria and elsewhere.
• Interactive opportunities between journalists and medical researchers, scientists, youth, and health care professionals who use the resources.
• Access to electronic and hard copies of over 200 scientific journals.
• Application assistance to mid-career journalists seeking fellowships and awards from internationally recognised organisations.

The Computer Internet Clubhouse is set up as a creative learning environment for youth and journalists, with an integrated approach for interaction between NGO personnel, scientists, and researchers and students.

The Popline Support Centre provides information on family planning programmes, population, HIV/AIDS, fertility, maternal and child health, and other health-related issues. The popline database includes more than 300,000 citations with detailed abstracts and in-depth indexing from around the world.

Technology, Health, HIV/AIDS.

MRAC activities were put in place to help build the capacity of journalists to explore new ideas, develop skills, and build confidence to face the challenges of new media and technology. Programme organisers state that much of what people learn and perceive comes from what they see in the media. Therefore media, they say, has an important role to play in development, and must be well-informed to fulfill this role.