Nigerian freelance journalist, Kelechukwu Iruoma has been selected along with nineteen other journalists worldwide for the Covering Rare Disease Fellowship and grant sponsored by the National Press Foundation.
Others selected according to a statement on September 10 include Winnie Aguilar | Freelance Philippines, Sandra Cuffe | Freelance | Guatemala, Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman | GHOne TV | Ghana, Meeri Kim | Freelance | United States and Anna Larsson | Swedish National Radio | Sweden.
Also selected are Mactilda Mbenywe | The Standard Group | Kenya, Clement Edward Msiska | Capital Radio Malawi | Malawi, William Newton | GlobalData Healthcare | United States, Marielba Nunez | Freelance/Armando.Info/Scidev.net | Venezuela, Esther Oluka | Daily Monitor | Uganda and Ankur Paliwal | FiftyTwo | India.
Jen Pinkowski | Freelance | Germany, Erin Prater | The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) | United States, Bob Roehr | Freelance | United States, Diego Salazar | Freelance | Mexico, Anna Sawerthal | Der Standard /Freelance | Austria, Limpho Sello | Lesotho Times, Sunday Express | Lesotho,Stephen Tsoroti | Freelance | Zimbabwe and David Wahlberg | Wisconsin State Journal | United States will also participate in the fellowship scheduled for September . 13, 14 and 2
Iruoma is a multi-award-winning journalist and communications professional with an interest in development, investigative, and solutions journalism.
Among others, he writes for Africa Business Magazine, Devex, The Africa Report, Global Sisters Report and the International Journalists Network.
The online fellowship is meant to help journalists understand a story that is both hidden and everywhere followed by up to $3,000 in reporting grants to support journalists in executing a project of their choosing.
“ The program will include online briefings from top world experts in rare diseases, diagnostics, massive parallel genomic sequencing, artificial intelligence and medical ethics; leaders of patient groups; and special sessions on the craft of medical journalism and storytelling.
“ Fellows’ work will be published or broadcast first in the journalists’ chosen outlets, then reprinted in a compilation book produced by Fondation Ipsen, a Paris-based nonprofit that focuses on rare diseases, inclusion and disability.
“ The program will begin Sept. 13-14, with webinars open to all that will bring global experts to talk about the prevalence of rare diseases and how they are often misdiagnosed; how artificial intelligence and big data are being used to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases; how regulators in the U.S. and the EU support the development of treatments through mechanisms such as the Orphan Drug Act; how patients and their families organize to prod government and industry to focus on their ailments; and whether advances in diagnosis and treatment will widen existing racial disparities in medical care,” NPF stated in the call for application.
