Training Religious Leaders to Engage Media for Better Health Information Outcomes

Lack of trust is a major source of communication gap between the Sierra Leone media and the public; because of this many people shy away from the media. This becomes especially problematic in the context of health emergencies like Covid-19. The Internews Health Journalism Network (HJN), in collaboration with the Christian Health Association of Sierra Leone, conducted a training for religious leaders as part of efforts to bridge this gap by capacitating them on engaging with the media. This report by ManoReporters Editor, Kemo Cham, who is the Internews HJN Ambassador in Sierra Leone, explains the rationale behind the initiative.