By Lilian U. Okoro
The Lagos State Unified Media Health Coalition has reiterated commitment to improving maternal and child health outcomes through a more coordinated media reportage and information dissemination.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the coalition, formed under the auspices of the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), aims to promote more coordinated health reporting activities to achieve better health outcomes.
Speaking at the coalition meeting on Tuesday in Lagos, the Director of Programme, ISMPH, Mr Solomon Dogo, described the event as a post-alignment meeting following the inauguration of the group in February 2026.
“Sometimes last two months, the media in Lagos came together to form a unified group, trying to see how they can speak with one voice to ensure that the maternal and child mortality is being reduced in Lagos state,” he said.
According to him, the movement is a welcome idea, assuring readiness of the ISMPH to continually partner and support the coalition in whatever possible means.
He explained that idea was to reduce maternal mortality rate through amplified information dissemination and awareness concerning maternal and child health so that no woman or child dies due to lack of information relating access to healthcare in Lagos State.
He added that through the media’s amplified information, the governments and policy makers would be held accountable on their roles regarding healthcare across the state.
“For us, we are here to encourage them to see what they are doing and to ensure that we provide whatever support they need to do their work.
“It’s indeed a very good initiative by the journalists in Lagos state.
“We are going to work together in the health sector to ensure that our women are not dying, our children are not dying, and people are not dying because of lack of access to care.
“Already the state government is doing so much in terms of providing access to health facilities for Lagosians. So if people don’t know where to access the services, that would be bad,” Dogo said.
Earlier, the coalition’s Chairperson, Mrs Vivian Ihechu, explained that maternal health encompassed maternal and child health, primary healthcare, immunisation, nutrition, and health financing among others.
Ihechu, also the President of Health Writers Writers Association of Nigeria (HEWAN), said the coalition was formed by four associations of health writers in the state.
She listed the association to be HEWAN, the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN), the Knowledge Management & Communication Sub-committee (KMCS) of the Lagos State Accountability Mechanism (LASAM); and the Society for Media Advocacy on Health (SOMAH), Nigeria.
According to her, media advocacy is very important as it’s very key in influencing government policies, especially in the area of awareness creation, sensitisation and holding the governments accountable.
“Instead of operating in silos or association by association, we have decided to come together; in as much as you’re a health journalist, reporting health in Lagos State, you are under this coalition.
“The whole aim is to ensure that health reportage is accurate, people get the right information they need to get timely, and also to hold the government accountable,” Ihechu said.
Similarly, the State Coordinator of NRHJN, Lagos State, Mrs Kikelomo Oduyebo, reiterated the need to recognise journalists as critical stakeholders in improving maternal, newborn, child health, including adolescent health.
“This is because once the media has right, accurate information; the media is a gap that will be able to target policy makers, the government, to improve funding for health budgets.
“The media will also target the community where there are mothers and children, sensitising them on the need for vaccination and how to access the healthcare they need.
“If mothers are not taking their children to immunisation, the children will die of vaccine preventable diseases. So, the media is a critical stakeholder,” she said.
According to her, presently the maternal mortality rate is high, stressing that the first way of bringing it down is through media awareness and advocacy; telling people, go to the nearest Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs).
Mrs Chioma Umeha, Health Editor at Daily Independent Newspapers, noted that strategic media advocacy would shift RMNCAH from neglected statistics into urgent policy priorities.
According to her, by keeping maternal and child health outcomes in the spotlight, the coalition will successfully drive political will across Lagos.
Umeha, who is the Chairperson of SOMAH, said that focused advocacy would help to dismantle operational barriers by demanding transparency.
“It aims to directly secure increased state funding, streamline data access, and mobilise crucial medical resources for primary health facilities across local communities,” she noted.
The Health Editor, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Olusola Ogundipe, called for deliberate empowerment of the media to enhance its operations.
Ogundipe said that the media operations were being confronted with a lot of challenges including lack of finance, lack of trust, lack of access to information, social media surge among others.
According to him, empowerment of the media must not be limited to monetary aspect, but can be in the form of training or provision of the needed working tools.
The meeting had in attendance the various partners of the coalition including Clinton Health Accey Initiative, Gates Foundation, Engender Health Initiative, and Legislative Initiative For Sustainable Development and Lagos State Ministry of Health, and other Lagos State Government Health agencies.(NAN)www.nannews.com
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
