By Ann Mikia, Internews in Kenya.
The launch of health segments in various media houses in Kenya is one of the major achievements by alumni of Internews in Kenya health journalism training.
The Health Assignment, a segment that was developed by Internews health fellow Irene Choge, was launched on March 15 on NTV. It became the third TV health slot initiated by an Internews alumnus, after Beryl Ooro started Hope Beyond on K24 and Catherine Achieng’a launched the weekly segment, Health Matters on KBC.
But radio journalists have established the lion share of segments. After undergoing in-house training in health feature production, Bulala FM in Budalangi started Afya Yetu, a segment that runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8pm. “The features we produce have attracted more listeners who write text messages on the topic being discussed,” says Calistus Muga, a producer with the station.
Gladys Bett of KBC’s Kitwek FM says the quality of her talk show has improved since she was trained by Internews. “The Internews training taught me new techniques of packaging interesting features for my listeners,” says Bett.
Doreen Mwasi from Koch FM, a community radio in Korogogocho slums in Nairobi, runs a live health segment on Thursdays: Janjaruka, which mostly features content on HIV and AIDS. The one- hour slot is interactive allowing the audience to make live calls to studio guests.
