Mr Roland Affail Monney, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has said the Ghanaian media landscape was fast turning into “a huge mall” for the sale of drugs.
He described the situation as dangerous and appealed to journalists and media practitioners to “detoxify” the media platform in the country.
Mr Monney said this at day’s workshop for journalists in Ho on “Journalism Safety in Reporting on Ebola and other public health issues” sponsored by the US Embassy in Ghana.
He said in most cases, the quality of drugs sold in the media could not be validated and that such practice must be stopped and not allowed under the guise of promoting health.
Dr Monney said though the media needed money to survive, it must strike a balance between commercialisation and ethical practice.
He advised journalists to specialize in health reporting and help promote preventive health and healthy living in communities.
Mrs Linda Asante-Adjei, a Health Reporter with the Ghana News Agency, reminded journalists to be careful in their choice of words and move away from causing panic when reporting on health.
She asked them to abide by principles of objectivity, accuracy and balance.
Mr Daniel Fennell, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy in Ghana, advised media houses to set up and make good use of health desks and support reporters on that beat.
He lauded the Ghanaian media for efforts at promoting good governance and said it was important journalists showed some interest in health as well.
Dr Yaw Ofori Yeboah, Deputy Director in charge of Public Health in the Volta Region said the Ghana Health Service could not address health issues without the support of the media and called for closer cooperation between the two institutions.
Madam Hellen Ntoso, Volta Regional Minister, commended the media in the region for contributing to the growth of the region and urged practitioners to give some priority to public health issues.
She appealed to the media to focus on activities that undermine good sanitation and health.
