Journalists from the United States, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa can win international reporting trips worth up to $10,000 for submitting the best stories on infectious diseases.
Stories can address diseases including AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. These three diseases alone are the leading causes of death in low- and middle-income countries. They claim nearly 4 million lives every year and cost billions of dollars in lost productivity. The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is launching the story contest to spur discussion about how the global community deals with these critical health issues.
Stories published or broadcast between May 20 and Sept. 1, 2013, will qualify. The deadline for submitting stories is Sept. 1, 2013. Along with the story submission, participants must include a 300-word proposal for an international reporting trip to expand their coverage of infectious diseases.
The International Center for Journalists will select three winners, one from each region. An editor/manager of the winners’ media outlets also will win a trip to Washington, D.C., to attend ICFJ’s 2013 Awards Dinner on Nov. 7, 2013. The Africa contest is administered in partnership with the African Health Journalists Association.
Winners will be contacted on Oct. 1.
Stories must be in English or French and cover diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
Possible topics include:
• Government policies and programs that address infectious diseases
• Effectiveness of donor-funded infectious-diseases programs
• The state of funding for the delivery, treatment and research of infectious diseases
• Journalists working in each region for print, broadcast or online media qualify. The contest also is open to freelance journalists whose stories are published or broadcast by Sept. 1, 2013.
Please tweet about the stories you submit using the hashtag #icfjhealth.