At a July meeting of journalists, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Malaria Ambassador and renowned South African musician and community activist Yvonne Chakachaka, urged African journalists to improve reporting on HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Chakachaka was speaking to journalists and editors at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa that focused on the best practices of Maisha Yetu, a project by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). The group aims to enhance the quality and consistency of health reporting by the African media.



Chakachaka challenged every member of the African media to do more to prevent the suffering caused by disease, and said that focusing on health issues such as malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS encourages governments and civil society to allocate more resources to tackle the three diseases.

IWMF Executive Director Jane Ransom also spoke at the conference stating that ’’[i]nformation about TB treatment strategies and malaria drugs policies can save lives if people know about them,’’ adding that ’’in this regard, the African media has an important role to play especially in the prevention, care and better understanding of these public health issues.’’