ABIDJAN – The African Media Network for Health and Environment Promotion (REMAPSEN) has announced plans to convene the 4th African Media Forum on NTDs in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from November 25 to 27, 2025.
By: Siaway T. Miapue, contributing writer
The announcement was made during a press conference held on Friday, May 30, in the Ivorian capital.
The forum is expected to bring together journalists from 35 African countries representing a wide spectrum of linguistic backgrounds including Francophone, Anglophone, Lusophone, Hispanophone, and Arabophone communities.
Organizers say the objective is to train and empower journalists to give greater media visibility to NTDs, which continue to be underreported despite their widespread impact.
“Organizing this forum is an opportunity to bring NTDs out of their state of neglect and place them among priority subjects in media information processing in Africa,” said Bamba Youssouf, Chairman of REMAPSEN’s Board of Directors.
NTDs are a group of communicable diseases that thrive in areas of extreme poverty, especially in tropical and subtropical climates. Common examples include river blindness (onchocerciasis), schistosomiasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis (commonly known as elephantiasis), soil-transmitted helminths, and trachoma.
These diseases often cause severe disabilities, stigmatization, and contribute to a cycle of poverty in affected communities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one billion people are currently affected, with around 1.5 billion requiring preventive or curative interventions.
REMAPSEN’s Executive Director, Coulibaly Zié Oumar, highlighted the urgency of dismantling what he referred to as the “media silence” surrounding these diseases.
“This forum aims to break the media silence surrounding NTDs,” said Coulibaly. “These diseases do not just cause suffering; they perpetuate cycles of poverty, disability, and social stigma. It is time for journalists to play a leading role in changing that narrative.”
This year’s forum will be held under the theme “Media Contribution to Positioning the Fight Against Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.” The three-day event will feature workshops, training sessions, roundtable discussions, expert panels, and networking opportunities designed to enhance journalists’ reporting capacity and influence public policy through more accurate and consistent media coverage of NTDs.
The press conference also featured several national-level health authorities who emphasized the critical role of the media in public health awareness. Dr. Djè Ngoran Norbert, Director of Côte d’Ivoire’s national program for combating NTDs through preventive chemotherapy, welcomed the focus on the issue and urged journalists to treat NTDs as urgent public health concerns.
“The choice of NTDs as the theme of this forum is timely,” Dr. Norbert said. “We need to ensure that people and policymakers understand the stakes. The media can bridge that gap.”
Also speaking was Dr. Dizoé, Coordinator of the National Leprosy Elimination Program, who reiterated the importance of public awareness campaigns in dispelling misinformation and encouraging early detection and treatment of leprosy and similar diseases.
Support for the forum is being provided by several international health and advocacy organizations, including Speak Up Africa and Sightsavers. Both institutions issued messages of support during the press event, reiterating their financial and technical commitment to the success of the initiative.
As part of the forum activities, REMAPSEN will host the 4th edition of the REMAPSEN Awards, which honors African journalists who have demonstrated excellence in reporting on health and environmental issues. A key highlight of the awards will be the Michel Sidibé Prizes, named in honor of the African Union’s Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency. These awards will also recognize countries that have excelled in implementing REMAPSEN-led activities on health and environment.
Line Renée Batongué, Director of the REMAPSEN Awards and a journalist with CRTV in Cameroon, said the awards serve as an essential recognition platform for journalists who often go unacknowledged in their reporting on public health and environmental challenges.
“We must recognize and uplift the work of journalists who go beyond headlines to cover health and environmental stories that often lack visibility,” Batongué said. She also noted the continued support from Brands on a Mission, led by Professor Myriam Sidibé, in helping sustain the awards’ relevance and prestige.
The local government of Côte d’Ivoire has expressed strong support for the upcoming event. Mr. Yao Daniel, Deputy Director of Press at the Autonomous District of Abidjan, announced that Minister-Governor Cissé Ibrahima Bacongo has agreed to serve as the presiding official at the awards ceremony scheduled for November 27, 2025.
Meanwhile, Mr. Agnéro Alphonse Renaud, speaking on behalf of the Communication Directorate at the Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage, conveyed a message from Health Minister Pierre N’Gou Dimba, expressing the Ministry’s satisfaction with hosting the forum.
“The Ministry looks forward to welcoming the 70 foreign journalists who will attend this crucial event,” Renaud said. “We see this as an opportunity to align public awareness with policy, and to ensure that neglected tropical diseases are no longer neglected in our national dialogue.”
