18th September, 2017
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday commenced a two-day training on humanitarian reporting for 30 journalists in Maiduguri.
Cesar Tshilombo, Head of UNHCR Sub-Office in Maiduguri, said the workshop was aimed at improving and promoting humanitarian reporting in the North East.
Tshilombo said “the objective of the training is to ensure that reporters are able to cover and tell stories from communities.
“Our goal is to equip reporters with skills to better examine and investigate happenings in
communities.
“The media has greater role to play in addressing humanitarian crisis in the North-East and the
Lake Chad region.”
Alhaji Baba-Sheikh Haruna, the Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Borno,
commended the gesture.
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Haruna said the training would help journalists to understand and learn more about humanitarian operations in the North-East, and contribute toward achieving improved system of information exchange.
He added that “it is a welcome development, considering the peculiar nature of humanitarian situation in the North-East.
“We need to have an understanding of humanitarian principles so that we can tell better stories about the things going on in our communities.”
UNHCR is a UN refugee agency dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
In Nigeria, the commission is working with government, development organisations and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in establishing response platforms for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).