At least, 28 journalist drawn from the print and electronic media within the Network of Journalists on Population and Development last Saturday benefited from a one-day orientation workshop on Population and Development held at the Girls' Guide Skills Centre, along MDI road in Kanifing.

The one-day orientation workshop was meant to equip members with more knowledge and skills on reporting and disseminating information on population issues. Welcoming participants at the start of the training, Fatou Touray, President of the Network of Journalists on Population and Development, deliberated on the importance of the orientation workshop.

She urged the network members to take the orientation seriously and disseminate the knowledge gained on Population and Development issues. Pa Modou Faal, treasurer of The Gambia Press Union (GPU), said the role of the media in the dissemination of information on population issues is indeed very crucial.

Mr Faal called on the National Population Secretariat and the UNFPA to regularly inform the media on the day to day activities as well as important information on population for public consumption.

He equally urged the media to make research and findings on Population and Development issues so as to equip themselves and to inform the public.
Mr Faal thanked the organisers of the workshop for capacitising journalists on population issues.

For her part, Aisha Davies-Ann, acting director at the Department of Information Services said the workshop is organised by the Network of Journalists under the view of the awareness on Reproductive Health and Rights and Gender Project executed by her department, describing it as one of the projects of the National Population Programme, funded by the UNFPA.

She added that the sixth country programme comprises three programme components namely: Reproductive Health, Population and Development and Gender. "Your role as media practitioners in the implementation of the National Population Policy and Programme is crucial and cannot be over-emphasised.  This is because IEC/Advocacy and Behavioural Component Change (BCC) are cross cutting activities in the implementation of the National Population Policy and Programme.  

Your role is expected to strengthen and support efforts in raising awareness as well as dispelling misinformation on the strategies of the policy and programme especially on reproductive health, family welfare and sexual behaviour, Mrs Davies-Ann told the Network of Journalists".  

She expressed hope that linkages between media and the various institutions under the programme will be made very clear and clear-cut strategies of effective participation in all aspects of the implementation of the present country programme will be outlined. Bintou Suso, representative of the UNFPA said her agency has established many networks, namely; the Network of Journalists on Population and Development, the Network of Youth Parliamentarians as well as the Traditional Communicators Network to support the population programme. She expressed her office's readiness to work with the media in closer collaboration.  

Ebou Jallow, assistant director of the National Population Secretariat also called on the media to do their best in disseminating population issues to the public. He also made a presentation on the International Conference on Population & Development.