4000 children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.
Inspiring change through the media
End Water Poverty members in Pakistan run first stage of successful programme to sensitise the media on water and sanitation.
Amar Guriro, one of the Media Fellows
The media is a powerful tool in conveying messages to both the general public and leading decision makers, including government officials, policy advisors and politicians. Identifying this, along with the realisation that water and sanitation issues were neglected by the national media, WaterAid Pakistan set about creating a programme to sensitise young journalists on crucial issues.
WaterAid Pakistan invited five participants from news agencies and news outlets to take part in the inaugural programme. It started with a two-day orientation meeting in January to brief the Fellows on the current state of water, hygiene and sanitation in Pakistan and also to outline their roles and responsibilities as Fellows.
The Fellows agreed how they would take their learning forward over the coming year, and committed to field visits, writing articles and hosting annual media forums on water and sanitation. The Fellows were then taken on a series of visits to WaterAid partner programmes to see service delivery and collect case studies, as well as take part in skills workshops.
A few months on, the programme has already made an impressive impact. Twenty-two feature articles have been published and the Fellows have become sensitised through workshops and field visits. Amar Guiro says of a trip to a village in Sindh where “the condition of drinking was contemptible with high levels of fluoride and arsenic. There was no other alternative for drinking water and the people were becoming victims of various deadly diseases. I have heard stories but seeing the miseries of these people was a real eye opener”.
Feedback on the articles has been positive and widespread, highlighting that these are issues that readers find important and engaging, and the programme is set to continue beyond its original end date.
Read Amar’s story on dangerous drinking water online, (opens in a new window), and read Aroosa Masroor’s article on poor water quality, (opens in a new window).
If you'd like to find out more about running a similiar programme as part of your influencing and advocacy on WASH issues, please contact Abdul Hafeez who can tell you more.