Award-winning WIMN member Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi
Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi is the Deputy Assignments Editor – Community News for the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and a member of the Graça Machel Trust Women in Media Network. She has worked for ZNBC for 20 as a radio and TV producer, as well as a newsroom reporter.
In that time, she has worked in producing in-depth news and health documentaries. Her reporting on health has been that of analyzing policy issues around the provision of health services. “I have produced documentaries on supply chain and management of contraceptives in Zambia, availability, and access to Post-exposure prophylaxis, for vulnerable and risky behaviour groups such as sex workers, provision of SRHR services to persons with disabilities among others.”
Her hard work and dedication saw her recognised and awarded last week by the Zambian National Health Research Authority -NHRA- a statutory body under the Ministry of Health. Ruth was awarded the Outstanding TV Documentary in Health. NHRA holds research conferences every two years and it is at these conferences that outstanding researchers in health and media are honoured.
“I learnt about the award on the morning of October 6, 2020. I received a phone call Kutha Banda-Mhango, the Senior Research Coordination & Knowledge Translation Officer at National Health Research Authority. She informed me about what I was not aware of, the fact that I had been nominated for an award and now I was the winner of that award. My first reaction was… ‘really, so which documentary are we talking about ….’ She was like ‘… one of the many that you had produced and well researched”…she congratulated me and extended an invitation for me to attend the awards ceremony the next day… and yes! It came as a surprise,” shared Ruth.
Award-winning WIMN member Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi receiving her prize.
“I was stunned, to say the least, because to start with, I have never been a fun of entering for awards. Throughout my career, I have always been on firm ground and believe that the best measure for my journalistic work is the impact that it creates on my targeted audience.
The award is a win for ZNBC and the current affairs team. At a time when the public service broadcaster no longer enjoys the monopoly of being the only national broadcaster due to digital migration which has seen many other stations enjoying national reach, a documentary by ZNBC still stood out. So I dedicated it to all the hardworking Journalists at ZNBC,” she added.
Her advice to upcoming journalists in her field? “Journalism should be about service above self. Do your work without fear or favour; stick to the basics of the profession, above all get your facts rights! Be deliberate and develop ideas that will influence/impact on the lives of your audience, ideas that will influence policy shifts for the benefit of the public.”
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.