Posted on: Fri 24-06-2022

The need for the media to serve as a missing link between citizens and policy makers has become a source of concern to the leadership of Maigodiya Center for Youths Development.

The aforementioned suggestions, they believed can be actualized if the media is willing to tread extra miles by providing more space and airtime for health budget issues so as to stimulate, enlighten and empower citizens to engage the process.

The group who made the plead at a two day capacity building organized for media practitioners drawn from the two states of Adamawa and Taraba on Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH),believed that more can be achieved in the area of MNCH if the media are willing to create more space and airtime for MNCH and other health related issues. 

The organizers who are not pleased with the current rate of MNCH in the region especially in the aforementioned states, also charged media practitioners in the states to be responsible for availing citizens with information about health governance processes, including budgetary expenditures.

The group who went ahead to argued that a "well informed citizenry on health budgetary issues will hold policymakers accountable on MNCH, believed that the failure of citizens to effectively hold policymakers accountable due to low level participation in governance processes, is linked to lack of access to information. 

Believing that the media can help in mountain pressures on the government to provide dedicated budget line for MNCH, for that to be actualized, Journalists, as made known by them, ought to be well knowledgeable about MNCH and health budget issues.

Working in partnership with civil organizations (CSOs) to effectively mobilize citizens’ participation in budget processes, they also believed would as well go a long way in assisting Journalists in using their platforms to make case for MNCH.

Journalists, as suggested by the Center, it is high-time for them to "begin to report about the various stages of the budget cycle by understanding and demystifying the content of the budgets and engaging the implementation process and constantly updating citizens about it."

Not comfortable with the situation of MNCH in the two states, participants collectively agreed that they have 

crucial role to play by publicizing budget processes and fostering Open Budget systems.

The capacity building which was organized by Maigodiya Center for Youth Development, was said to have been supported by SCALE project.

By Charles Akpeji

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