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By Gifty Amofa<\/p>\n
Accra, Dec.19, GNA \u2013 Journalists who report on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) have been advised to humanise issues in the sector for greater impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madam Akosua Ogyiri, Communications and Media Relations Manager of WaterAid, Ghana (WAG), gave the advice during an online refresher training on climate change and WASH reporting for selected members of the Ghana Water Journalists\u2019 Network (GWJN).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madam Ogyiri said humanising WASH stories would have more impact on the audience and ensure that the public enjoyed safe drinking water, decent toilets and good hygiene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said WaterAid considered the work of journalists important as they were collaborators in projecting WASH sector challenges, which the ordinary Ghanaian faced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour work will not only enable the people to relate with such issues better, but also get the attention of the authorities for solution,\u201d the WaterAid official added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madam Ogyiri said there was a big gap between those who enjoyed safe drinking water in the urban areas and their counterparts in the rural areas, and that it was incumbent on journalists to tell those stories using the human angle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said reporters should use the distance women and children were compelled to cover to get water, how water affected health service delivery, as well as women and girls who lacked water, among others, to get the attention of decision makers to resolve those situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should also explain to the public the relation between WASH and\u00a0 Climate Change, because the solution requires all hands-on deck,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Jonathan Chapman of WaterAid-UK in his presentation, said journalists should be able to hold authorities accountable to promises made for the sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJournalists should point-out obstacles to accessing good drinking water, ending open defecation, proper sanitation, and good hygiene,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Participants noted that public data on the negative effects of Climate Change on WASH were not a true reflection of what pertained.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
They said that the effects were more serious than what was portrayed by researchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Justice Adoboe, President of the Network, was hopeful that knowledge gained by participants would reflect on their WASH and climate change related stories. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
GNA\u00a0<\/p>\n