More than 20 reporters from every country in Central America attended a two-day Voice of America (VOA) training session on critical health issues related to influenza and natural disasters.
Organized by VOA’s Office of Development in Panama City, Panama, the Feb. 24-25 training exercises included roundtable discussions, analysis and knowledge-sharing by panelists from several International Organizations including the Pan American Health Organization, (PAHO), the United States Agency for International Development and Disaster Assistance (USAID), the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS), among others.
Topics discussed included the creation of simple and direct messages in cases of critical health emergencies under a possible pandemic and during a natural disaster.
The main focus of the influenza crisis addressed how to inform the population on prevention, containment and information dissemination in the event of a crisis caused by the H1N1 or H5N1 virus. The unique challenges of reaching populations during crises caused by natural disasters (lack of clean water, food and medications) were also covered.
One of the mandates of the Voice of America is to provide training in critical journalism skills around the world, particularly in issues pertaining to health.