A REPORT by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) has won the maiden edition of the PHC Media Challenge Award floated by the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) and the Nigerian Academy of Medicine (NAMED) in 2023.
The ICIR’s News Editor, Marcus Fatunmole, won the award with a N1 million prize and a certificate at an event held in Abuja on Friday, July 12.
He won the award with his investigative report supported by the International Budget Partnership under the Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK) project.
The report titled, “How inadequate manpower cripples primary healthcare in Nasarawa” exposed the challenges facing primary healthcare in Nasarawa state.
The state government employed 300 new health workers shortly after the report was published.
In 2022, The ICIR, through the IBP’s support investigated the implementation of the
Fatunmole is a health journalist with over a decade of experience in covering Nigeria’s health sector.
The first runner-up at the award was Lara Adejoro of the Punch Newspaper, while a former PREMIUM TIMES reporter, Nike Adebowale, won the second runner-up award.
Adejoro got N500,000, while Adebowale won N300,000. Both reporters were also awarded certificates.
Ten other journalists shortlisted for the award won N50,000 each.
Background to The ICIR’s report that won the award
To bridge gaps in primary healthcare delivery services, particularly for the poor and vulnerable, the Nigerian government, in 2019, rolled out the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) enshrined in the 2014 National Health Act.
It is a pool funded with at least one per cent of the nation’s consolidated revenue and other funding sources, including donor contributions.
Almost three years into the implementation of the Fund, Fatunmole and other journalists, with the support of the International Budget Partnership and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, visited hundreds of PHCs across 120 local government areas in 12 states of Nigeria to assess the impact of the fund and the implementation of the Midwife Service Scheme (MSS) earlier introduced by the Federal Government to support improved services at the nation’s PHCs.
The states are Anambra, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Niger and Nasarawa. Read the reports here.
The ICIR is an independent, non-profit news agency that promotes transparency and accountability through robust and objective investigative reporting.
Scores of The ICIR’s reports have won awards locally and internationally.