N.C. journalist goes to Europe for lessons about opioid crisis

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NC Health News reporter Taylor Knopf interviews Thilo Beck, head of psychiatry at Arud Centre for Addiction Medicine inside a heroin-assisted treatment facility in Zurich, Switzerland.

Photo: Andy SpechtNC Health News reporter Taylor Knopf interviews Thilo Beck, head of psychiatry at Arud Centre for Addiction Medicine inside a heroin-assisted treatment facility in Zurich, Switzerland.

Last year, Taylor Knopf, a health care journalist at North Carolina Health News, spent more than a week out of a vacation to report on how France and Switzerland have been able to do what the health care system in the United States has so far failed to do: stem the tide of opioid-related deaths.

Knopf earned first place in AHCJ’s Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism Public Health (small) category for her six-part NCHN series, “Lessons from Abroad.” Continue reading →

Joseph Burns (@jburns18), an independent journalist who resides in Brewster, Massachusetts, is AHCJ’s topic leader on health reform. He welcomes questions and suggestions and tip sheets at joseph@healthjournalism.org.

AHCJ fellow learns about global vulnerability in midst of COVID-19 outbreak

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Map of the COVID-19 outbreak as of March 19, 2020.

Image: Pharexia and authors of File:BlankMap-World.svg

Michele Cohen Marill is one of three journalists glad to be back in the U.S.

Marill, an Atlanta-based independent journalist, is one of four 2020 AHCJ International Health Study fellows and was in Germany conducting interviews for her fellowship when President Trump announced the unprecedented travel restrictions from Europe to the U.S. on March 11. Continue reading →

Bara Vaida (@barav) is AHCJ's core topic leader on infectious diseases. An independent journalist, she has written extensively about health policy and infectious diseases. Her work has appeared in the National Journal, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg News, McClatchy News Service, MSNBC, NPR, Politico, The Washington Post and other outlets.

AP correspondent brings his local experience to an international story

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Al-hadji Kudra Maliro

Al-hadji Kudra Maliro

In August 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo declared its 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years. The number of cases has now surpassed 3,000 and more than 2,000 have died, making it the second biggest and deadliest Ebola epidemic after the West Africa outbreak of 2014-16.

One of the local journalists on the ground is Al-hadji Kudra Maliro. He is the eastern Congo correspondent for the Associated Press and also has contributed stories to the Christian Science Monitor, Daily Mail, Le Monde, France 24, Yahoo and Stars and Stripes. On his Facebook page, Maliro describes himself as a photojournalist, fixer, reporter, activist, writer and video producer. Continue reading →

Bara Vaida (@barav) is AHCJ's core topic leader on infectious diseases. An independent journalist, she has written extensively about health policy and infectious diseases. Her work has appeared in the National Journal, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg News, McClatchy News Service, MSNBC, NPR, Politico, The Washington Post and other outlets.

AHCJ selects second class of International Health Study Fellows

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The Association of Health Care Journalists has awarded its AHCJ International Health Study Fellowships to four journalists who intend to pursue significant projects in the first half of 2020. The program, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, is meant to help veteran U.S.-based journalists compare elements of the U.S. health system with those of other countries.

The program for mid-career journalists is intended to give print, broadcast and online reporters an opportunity to study how one element of the U.S. health care system is handled in another country and to report on the differences. Fellows will interview patients, health care providers and policymakers in the United States and abroad.

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Pia Christensen (@AHCJ_Pia) is the managing editor/online services for AHCJ. She manages the content and development of healthjournalism.org, coordinates AHCJ's social media efforts and edits and manages production of association guides, programs and newsletters.

Health is on the agenda at UN Week

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Photo: United NationsTijjani Muhammad-Bande, president of the seventy-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, speaks at the high-level meeting on universal health coverage.

Welcome to UN Week in New York City … when savvy residents know better than to venture anywhere near the east side, avoid driving (or cabbing) below 50th Street and that the quickest way to get anywhere is by subway or on foot. Gridlock disaster doesn’t begin to describe it.

It’s a time when global leaders come together to talk about mutually important issues, like climate change (check out Greta Thunberg’s speech), trade, war and peace and world health.

A high-level meeting on universal health coverage, “Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World,” brought together heads of state, political and health leaders, policymakers and universal health coverage champions on Monday to advocate for health for all. Continue reading →

Liz Seegert is an independent health journalist and AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. She covers older adults, baby boomers, health policy, and social determinants of health, as well as many other health issues. Her bylines include stories for PBS/NextAvenue.org. the American Journal of Nursing, TIME Health, Medscape, Consumer Reports, and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, the Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.