By Olimatou Coker
The Association of Health Journalists, The Gambia (AOHJ) has announced its maiden Awards for Excellence, scheduled to take place in December 2025. The award aims to recognise and honour outstanding health reporting in print, broadcast, and online media, highlighting the critical role journalists play in shaping public discourse on health-related issues.
The awards seek to reward impactful stories that focus public attention on important health issues, making complex topics accessible to a wider audience and informing public discourse on health policy and patient rights.
By recognizing high-quality, impactful reporting, the awards aim to: Encourage professional recognition and raise public awareness on critical health issues and underreported health matters, contribute to a higher standard of health journalism overall, fostering better public understanding and promoting health literacy and encourage informed decision-making by individuals and hold the healthcare system accountable through accurate and high-quality reporting.
The awards feature eight categories, with most being topic-based, allowing entries to compete head-to-head regardless of the medium. This approach ensures that the best health reporting is recognized, regardless of the platform.
The Association called on institutions and philanthropists to support the initiative. The organisers believe that by supporting the awards, donors can contribute to a well-informed public by recognising and promoting high-quality, accurate reporting on health issues.
Yusupha Bojang, Public Relation Officer of AOHJ, emphasised that the awards are a brainchild of the association’s executive, designed to recognise and promote high-quality health journalism. He urged institutions and philanthropists to support the initiative, stressing that it will ultimately foster better public understanding and promote health literacy.
