Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism explained

Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism
Founded:2013
Founder:Mia Malan
Type:Nonprofit
Focus:Health journalism, Public health
Location:Johannesburg, South Africa

The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism is a non-profit media group based in South Africa. Bhekisisa, meaning "to scrutinize" in the Zulu language, focuses on health coverage from a social justice perspective, utilizing narrative and solutions journalism.[1]

The organization is recognized for its expertise in healthcare in South Africa and the broader African continent. It has been referenced by both local[2] and international media,[3] [4] [5] academic journals[6] [7] [8] [9] and books.[10] [11] [12] [13] Bhekisisa's articles are frequently published by South African news outlets such as the Daily Maverick, News24, the Mail & Guardian, and Financial Mail.[14]

In 2021, the nonprofit was the first media group to receive South Africa’s prestigious Reconciliation Award from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.[15]

History

Bhekisisa was established in 2013 as a health desk within the Mail & Guardian newspaper, under the editorial leadership of Nicholas Dawes.[16] The initiative was founded by healthcare journalist Mia Malan.[17]

In 2015, Bhekisisa underwent registration as a non-profit organization and received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which greatly contributed to the expansion[18] of its reporting efforts across the African continent. In 2019, it transitioned[19] from its association with the Mail & Guardian, becoming an independent media group.

Bhekisisa is often recognized as a notable nonprofit media organization,[20] [21] [22] particularly in the field of health reporting across Africa,[23] [24] and the Global South.

COVID-19

Bhekisisa was recognised[25] for taking the lead on COVID-19 pandemic reporting in South Africa, with many relying on it over government communications[26] for basic information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa. Early in 2020, it partnered on a live coronavirus dashboard[27] with the South African data journalism newsroom Media Hack Collective, collecting and interpreting unique, localized data on deaths, infections and vaccinations in Africa and South Africa.

Malan was regularly quoted by local[28] [29] [30] and international media[31] [32] [33] [34] [35] on COVID-19-related issues in South Africa and the region. She spoke globally about how journalists were reporting on the pandemic.[36] [37] [38] [39] [40] Her op-ed[41] article on the Omicron variant-related African travel ban was referenced by Fifa Rahman[42] at the World Health Organization’s ACT Accelerator Council in December of 2021 to note the damaging effect the travel ban had on COVID-19 researchers discovering variants outside of the West. On 3 November 2022, the Bhekisisa team received one of the National Press Club's two annual merit awards for outstanding reporting for what the judges described as “fearlessly reporting the facts and science of COVID while being mercilessly trolled on social media”.[43]

Notable reporting

In 2020, Joan van Dyk's article on the death of a child at the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp was a finalist in the 2020 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards.[44] The feature illustrated the impact of corruption at Bosasa, a South African prison facilities management group, on migrant healthcare. Her story resulted in the legal organisation ProBono moving forward with litigation.

In 2018, Pontsho Pilane’s #FreetoBleed series about the knock-on effects of costly menstruation products won the Discovery Health Journalist of the Year award.[45] Pilane was invited to Parliament to present her findings about the lack of access to sanitary pads. In 2019, sanitary pads and other menstrual products were made tax-free by the South African government.[46]

In 2016, Malan’s piece on rape in Diepsloot, a township north of Johannesburg, won both the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award for feature stories and the Standard Bank Sikuvile Award for feature stories.[47] [48]

In 2013, Malan’s story on ulwaluko initiation ceremonies, which left some young men in Pondoland dead or disfigured from botched circumcisions, won the 2014 Standard Bank Sikuvile Award for feature stories.[49]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Otter . Alastair . What is Bhekisisa? . 2022-04-08 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  2. Web site: Breen . Nicole . Despair and exclusion – how racism can be a catalyst for poor mental health . 2022-04-08 . Citypress . en-US.
  3. Web site: Corruption, Mismanagement Plague Limpopo's Traffic Cops and Medics . 2022-04-08 . www.occrp.org . en-GB.
  4. Web site: 2021-09-28 . Vaccination cards are not required to get hired in South Africa . 2022-04-13 . Fact Check . en.
  5. Web site: 2021-12-04 . 'Vaccinated people rarely hospitalised with Omicron in South Africa', says Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism editor . 2022-04-13 . Channel 4 News . en-GB.
  6. Keene . Claire . Mohr-Holland . Erika . Cassidy . Tali . Scott . Vera . Nelson . Aurelie . Furin . Jennifer . Triviño-Duran . Laura . 2020-09-01 . How COVID-19 could benefit tuberculosis and HIV services in South Africa . The Lancet Respiratory Medicine . English . 8 . 9 . 844–846 . 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30311-8 . 2213-2600 . 32758439. 7398675 .
  7. Perreault . Mildred F. . Perreault . Gregory P. . June 2021 . Journalists on COVID-19 Journalism: Communication Ecology of Pandemic Reporting . American Behavioral Scientist . en . 65 . 7 . 976–991 . 10.1177/0002764221992813 . 0002-7642 . 7868346.
  8. Boatemaa . Sandra . Barney . McKenna . Drimie . Scott . Harper . Julia . Korsten . Lise . Pereira . Laura . 2019-10-01 . Awakening from the listeriosis crisis: Food safety challenges, practices and governance in the food retail sector in South Africa . Food Control . en . 104 . 333–342 . 10.1016/j.foodcont.2019.05.009 . 181564282 . 0956-7135. 2263/70214 . free .
  9. Beesham . I. . Smit . J. . Beksinska . M. . Panday . M. . Makatini . V. . Evans . S. . October 2019 . Reasons for requesting removal of the hormonal implant, Implanon NXT, at an urban reproductive health clinic in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa . SAMJ: South African Medical Journal . 109 . 10 . 750–755 . 10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v109i10.00012 . 31635572 . 204833261 . 0256-9574. free .
  10. Book: Basson, Adriaan . Blessed by Bosasa: Inside Gavin Watson's State Capture Cult . 2019-10-21 . Jonathan Ball Publishers . 978-1-77619-003-4 . en.
  11. Book: Friedman, Steven . One Virus, Two Countries: What COVID-19 Tells Us About South Africa . 2021-11-01 . NYU Press . 978-1-77614-746-5 . en.
  12. Book: Gascoigne . Toss . Communicating Science: A Global Perspective . Schiele . Bernard . Leach . Joan . Riedlinger . Michelle . Massarani . Luisa . Lewenstein . Bruce V. . Broks . Peter . 2020-09-14 . ANU Press . 978-1-76046-366-3 . en.
  13. Book: Ltd, Juta and Company . Pandemics and Healthcare: Principles, Processes and Practice . en.
  14. News: Admin . FAQs – Bhekisisa . en-US . Bhekisisa . 2023-02-07.
  15. Web site: Mafolo . Karabo . 2021-11-26 . MEDIA HONOUR: Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism wins 2021 Reconciliation Award . 2022-04-21 . Daily Maverick . en.
  16. Web site: 2013-04-18 . Bhekisisa: Our health journalism centre is here . 2022-04-13 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  17. Web site: Admin . Our Team . 2022-04-21 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2015-10-01 . Bhekisisa gets a boost into Africa . 2022-04-13 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  19. Web site: Malan . Mia . 2019-07-12 . It's official: Bhekisisa is going solo . 2022-04-13 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  20. Web site: Sandra Gordon . 2020-09-01 . Pockets of excellence and competence . 2022-04-13 . The Media Online . en-US.
  21. Web site: 2022-02-15 . Disrupted media – disrupted academy: Rethinking African j-schools . 2022-04-13 . Shorenstein Center . en-US.
  22. Book: Dunn . Hopeton S. . Re-imagining Communication in Africa and the Caribbean: Global South Issues in Media, Culture and Technology . Moyo . Dumisani . Lesitaokana . William O. . Barnabas . Shanade Bianca . 2021 . Springer Nature . 978-3-030-54169-9 . en.
  23. Web site: 'Fake news' and COVID-19: How have we performed? . 2022-04-13 . www.news.uct.ac.za . en.
  24. Web site: Center for International Media Assistance . 2022-04-13 . en-US.
  25. Web site: Few winners, many losers: the COVID-19 pandemic's dramatic and unequal impact on independent news media . 2022-04-13 . Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism . en.
  26. Web site: Low, Marcus . Geffen, Nathan . 18 August 2021 . How to boost the COVID-19 vaccine rollout . 13 April 2022 . Spotlight.
  27. Web site: Coronavirus in South Africa - FAQ . 2022-04-13 . mediahack.co.za . en.
  28. Web site: SA's vaccine rollout update: Pfizer is up next says Bhekisisa Health's Mia Malan . 2022-04-13 . CapeTalk . en-ZA.
  29. Web site: 2021-11-10 . Bhekisisa concerned about sectors not getting vaccinated . 2022-04-13 . SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader. . en-US.
  30. Web site: podcasters . Omny Studio is the complete audio management solution for . Stations . Radio . Mia Malan - Wake Up On Metro FM - Omny.fm . 2022-04-13 . omny.fm.
  31. Web site: 2021-12-04 . 'Vaccinated people rarely hospitalised with Omicron in South Africa', says Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism editor . 2022-04-13 . Channel 4 News . en-GB.
  32. Web site: Scott . Dylan . 2021-12-09 . What South Africa is seeing in its omicron outbreak . 2022-04-13 . Vox . en.
  33. Web site: Omicron is declining in South Africa. Here's what to expect in the United States . 2022-04-13 . www.wbur.org . en.
  34. News: Hernandez . Joe . 2021-11-30 . African leaders condemn travel restrictions as omicron variant spreads globally . en . NPR . 2022-04-13.
  35. Web site: Johannesburg . Carien du Plessis in . 2020-05-27 . How South Africa's action on Covid-19 contrasts sharply with its response to Aids . 2022-04-13 . the Guardian . en.
  36. Web site: Covering COVID-19 is tough. The head of a health news site explains how to get it right . 2022-04-13 . Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism . en.
  37. Web site: 2020-04-06 . Racism, misinformation, inclusion: How to ethically cover COVID-19 . 2022-04-13 . WAN-IFRA . en-US.
  38. Web site: Bhekisisa Webinar - When epidemics collide: TB, HIV and COVID-19 . 2022-04-13 . COVID-19 Communication Network . en-US.
  39. Web site: 2021-12-22 . Need and greed: Reporting on COVID-19 in Southern Africa . 2022-04-13 . Journalism Courses Knight Center . en-US.
  40. Web site: Skoll Surviving a Pandemic with Grit, Innovation, and Creativity in South Africa . 2022-04-13.
  41. Web site: Malan . Mia . 2021-12-08 . The joke's on us, South Africa. The cruel logic of Omicron travel bans – debunked . 2022-04-13 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  42. Web site: 8th ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council meeting . 2022-04-13 . www.who.int . en.
  43. Web site: Team . Bhekisisa . 2022-11-07 . Bhekisisa gets a merit award for COVID reporting . 2022-11-17 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  44. Web site: TMO reporter . 21 August 2020 . Sikuvile Journalism Awards finalists announced . 13 April 2022 . The Media Online.
  45. Web site: 2018-05-31 . M&G bags top prize at Discovery health awards . 2022-04-13 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  46. Web site: Menstrual Products Have Been Declared Tax Free in South Africa . 2022-04-13 . Global Citizen . en.
  47. Web site: Team . Bhekisisa . 2016-10-16 . Bhekisisa editor Mia Malan nabs CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award . 2022-04-13 . Bhekisisa . en-US.
  48. Web site: Winners announced for 2016 Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards . 2022-04-13 . Bizcommunity . en.
  49. Web site: 2014-05-22 . M&G bags prestigious journalism awards . 2022-04-14 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.

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