The spotlight was on Trinidad which excelled in the area of health journalism, taking the majority of the coveted Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Awards on Friday evening.
Barbadian journalists also did the country proud with two at the Nation Publishing Company being rewarded for outstanding work.
Now in its 16th year, the annual event, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael, celebrated excellence in health journalism and journalists who drew attention to issues relating to health in all of its dimensions: physical, mental and social well-being.
Nation journalist Tracy Moore received a national award for Best News Report In Print, for her piece Battling With Baby Blues, published in Better Health Magazine. Judges called her piece insightful and comprehensive.
Weekend Nation Editor Bryan Walker took a regional award in the category of Best Communication Campaign for his series Trash Talk, which documented innovative ways to deal with waste. The series was also recognised for its potential for policy change.
Other local winners included Leroy Adolphus of Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) who won a national award for his broadcast piece HIV Stigma on Guyana. Nichole Murray of the Barbados Advocate also won the UNICEF Special Award for exploring issues affecting the region’s children.
This year’s entries focused on diverse health-related issues, a departure from the recent past, where most issues focused on HIV/AIDS, healthy snacking, the sex trade, kidney disease, sexuality and reproductive health. Social issues highlighting disabilities and women’s role in politics were also in focus this year.
A new award for Journalism on men’s health, sponsored by the Barbados National Bank, was introduced this year and it was won by Trinidadian Sheldon Yearwood, of WIN TV for his piece Get Tested – Think, Live, Choose.
Belize also made a good showing, taking home the Best Report – TV award. A Certificate of Merit was presented to Janelle Chanona, who also won the UNICEF Award for her work on children’s rights for her Blind Hope report, as well as a UNIFEM award for her report on Women In Politics.
Also from Belize, Jacqueline Wood received a Certificate of Merit for her televison/ Internet documentary The Battle Of The Bulge.
Angela Martin of the Trinidad Express also did well, taking the Best Health Page award for her work Women’s Sexual And Reproductive Health. She also tied with Rhea-Simone Auguste for Best Health Coverage.
Suriname also was served well by the Jeugdjournal team for their feature on a local village.
Cedrianne Martin of the Trinidad Express, who won the most awards last year, took the PANOS Award as well as a PAHO Gender Ethnicity and Health Unit award.
But the big winner of the night was Auguste, who was singled out for her work Don’t Ban Snacks, Plan Snacks, as well as a piece called Reality Check. She walked away with the prize for the Most Outstanding Entry.
Taking four awards and one Certificate of Merit in total, Auguste will be the guest of the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, Italy.
Yearwood took the coveted Kaiser Award. This comes with a week-long fellowship in health journalism in Washington, DC.
Dr Barbara Graham, sub-regional coordinator in the Caribbean with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, delivered the feature address, while Dr Bernadette Theodore-Gandi, PAHO/WHO Caribbean programme coordinator, delivered the welcoming remarks.
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