20 under-reported stories about global health we will support this year
Introducing the latest grantees of our Global Health Journalism Grant Programme for Germany and France
In the past months, the development of the COVID-19 crisis has shone a spotlight on the importance of global health reporting. When done well, it is key to raising awareness about global health issues among the general public, and to informing influencers and decision makers in government, civil society, industry, and science.
To increase the scope and depth of global health reporting, our team at the European Journalism Centre is proud to award 20 projects that will use these reporting grants to advance the coverage of international health, health policy and development issues in German and French media.
The COVID-19 crisis raises many reporting challenges for journalists as they adhere to stay-at-home guidelines and travel bans. To this end, we have extended the reporting deadline for these grants. We are working closely with all grantees to provide generous flexibility in terms of project scope and budgets. In some cases, we will work with grantees to help them produce alternative stories of comparable impact and quality.
By the time these programmes are finished, the EJC will have funded 85 journalism projects, distributing a total sum of one million euros. We are excited to see the latest projects come to life and congratulate all grantees and their teams.
These are the selected journalists and their stories:
Winning projects
Enemies around the operating table
Burundi, one of the poorest countries of the world, is still struggling to emerge from a more than 12-year ethnic civil war but for Deo, a local doctor, his country is a nation of hope. He trains former enemies to become doctors and nurses. In his hospital they stand side by side on the operating table where they work together to save lives.
Team
Julia Amberger, Jonas Wresch
Project locations
Burundi
Media outlets
SWR, STERN, Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Budget
€15,010.00
The road to Universal Health-Care
Universal Health Coverage is a simple idea: Everyone should be able to access the health services they need, without suffering financial hardship. However, how can developing countries achieve such a goal?
Team
Michele Bertelli, Felix Lill, Javier Sauras
Project locations
Bolivia & Sierra Leone
Media outlets
Frankfurter Rundschau, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Augsburger Allgemeine, Rheinpfalz, Neues Deutschland
Budget
€15,999.00
On the Frontline: The daily struggle of female community health workers
The power to improve global health is in the hands of community health workers, but the WHO warns of an immediate shortfall - what are these women's daily challenges and what are sustainable solutions?
Team
Benjamin Breitegger, Juliane Nagiller
Project locations
Liberia, Zambia, Nepal
Media outlets
NDR, Fluter.de
Budget
€15,505.00
Kenneth's Fight
The world talks about COVID-19, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, but every year a virus kills more than a million people in silence: hepatitis - although it could be contained worldwide. Uganda is leading the way.
Team
Isabelle Buckow, Frauke Huber
Project locations
Uganda
Media outlets
Der Tagesspiegel, stern Gesund Leben, REPORTAGEN
Budget
€15,687.00
Leaving a mark - is Global Health finally becoming a viable business model for the Western life sciences sector?
Can German companies come up with a fair and viable business model for Global Health - and do they want to?
Team
Julia Gross, Martin Laqua
Project locations
Germany, Austria, India, two of the following countries: Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar
Media outlets
Euro am Sonntag (weekly), Euro (monthly) transkript (quarterly)
Budget
€14,684.00
While women die - How a global anti-abortion movement worsens the dramatic abortion situation in Nigeria
According to the WHO, Nigeria accounts for almost twenty percent of global maternal deaths, one reason being: unsafe abortions. The project follows local activists who persist and educate about reproductive health, provide contraception and post-abortion care and fight to end Nigeria’s abortion crisis.
Team
Paul Hildebrandt, Birte Mensing
Project locations
Nigeria, Germany
Media outlets
Taz am Wochenende, Deutschlandfunkkultur, Weltzeit, Chrismon
Budget
€13,820.00
Secret Rescue - Remote research on West African island helps to stop international diseases
The remote conditions of some West African islands lead to specific health problems but research there helps to not only stop local but international diseases.
Team
Julia Jaroschewski
Project locations
Guinea-Bissau
Media outlets
Deutschlandradio - long radio feature
Budget
€11,090.00
A World of Difference - The Dangers of Incomplete Genom Research
Current genetic research is dangerously incomplete or worse, mistaken. African, Asian or Hispanic populations are largely excluded from research for disease detection, prevention and treatment. The new push to create more diverse biobanks in Africa and Asia is overdue.
Team
Nicole Macheroux-Denault, Tim Wege, Robin Denault.
Project locations
India, South Africa, Burkina Faso or Kenya, maybe Germany
Media outlets
Vox Nachrichten (TV Story 7 minutes), RTL Nachtjournal (current affairs story 3 minutes)
Budget
€20,203.00
Nigerias cough syrup epidemic
Fuelled by corruption and political ignorance, Nigeria is facing a hidden opioid-crisis - entire clinics have been set up for the battle against codeine-containing cough syrup.
Team
Christian Putsch, Sam Olukoya, Andrew Esiebo
Project locations
Nigeria
Media outlets
WELT am SONNTAG, www.welt.de
Budget
€14,650.00
Life Without Kidneys: How ready is Africa for the imminent NCD crisis?
An exploration of the kind of innovative thinking that will be needed to address the WHO's prediction that non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease will be the leading cause of death in Africa by 2030.
Team
Nyani Quarmyne, Laura Salm-Reifferscheidt
Project locations
eSwatini, South Africa
Media outlets
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Deutsche Welle
Budget
€14,795.00
The cancer gap
New treatments against cancer often only reach industrial nations, developing countries, in contrast, are falling behind.
Team
Astrid Viciano, Michele Catanzaro
Project locations
India , Kenya
Media outlets
STERN's health magazine
Budget
€15,860.00
The children of Chiquimula
In Guatemala, severe malnutrition perpetuates one of the highest rates of stunted children in the world - and climate change is making the situation even worse.
Team
Malte Werner, José García Escobar, Victoria Castañeda Ríos, Daniel van Moll
Project locations
Guatemala
Media outlets
Der Tagesspiegel am Sonntag, Agencia Ocote
Budget
€13,950.00