The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) launched a Media Fellowship programme aimed at empowering health journalists from Eastern Africa to tell impactful stories about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and the often-overlooked communities they affect. Running from November 2024 to January 2025, the three-month fellowship supported selected journalists through workshops, pitch development sessions, and reporting grants. Participants were expected to produce at least two in-depth stories by engaging directly with affected populations and key stakeholders. They received mentorship from seasoned journalists and experts in neglected diseases, including DNDi researchers, to strengthen their storytelling skills and scientific understanding. 

 

The grant component of the fellowship focused on raising awareness about NTDs such as advanced HIV disease, visceral leishmaniasis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, cryptococcal meningitis, and mycetoma - diseases worsened by poverty, malnutrition, and limited healthcare access. It encouraged journalists to explore these issues through different lenses, including gender, pediatrics, conflict, and climate change. A particular emphasis was placed on the double vulnerability of children, who face both high risk of infection and a severe lack of child-appropriate treatments. The fellowship was open to journalists based in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, DRC, and Sudan, and accepted a wide range of applicants, from staff reporters and photographers to freelancers and multimedia journalists.