USAID’s Alliance for Combating TB in Bangladesh (ACTB) Media Fellowship for Reporting on TB 2022

USAID’s Alliance for Combating TB in Bangladesh (ACTB) Media Fellowship for Reporting on TB 2022

Introduction

USAID’s Alliance for Combating Tuberculosis (TB) in Bangladesh (ACTB) is a four-year implementation project which is implemented by an icddr,b-led consortium. The project aims to increase TB case detection rates to 90% and to sustain a treatment success rate of more than 90% in the project areas by the end of the project timeline. The project will achieve its goal through the project objectives to effectively integrate TB diagnosis, management, prevention, and control services in the existing TB care platforms, and increase access to people-centered TB services in the selected intervention areas, addressing gender as a cross-cutting issue. These objectives are well aligned with the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2018-2022 of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP) and the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Development Program (HPNSDP) 2011-2016, and they also support USAID/Bangladesh “Health Status Improved” Activity under the Investing in People Objective, Health Project Area of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Framework. The “USAID’s ACTB Media Fellowship for Reporting on TB 2022” offers a unique opportunity to those journalists who wish to explore TB-related issues in the country through their activities.

Purpose of the fellowship

Journalists can play an important role in developing community awareness and reducing the stigma of a disease. Through this fellowship, USAID’s ACTB will identify a pool of journalists, and orient them on diverse TB issues in order to reduce TB-related stigma as well as to get enough attention from policymakers to address the challenges engulfing the TB field. It will also support journalists with the potential and on a trajectory to become future leaders in the field of TB reporting. Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from leading experts, gain valuable field experience and see first-hand how TB interventions are developed and implemented.

Terms and conditions of the fellowship

Application

• Interested journalists must submit a completed application form, manager/editor letter of support, response to the question set out in annex B, and copies of previous stories on health/relevant issues by 30 September 2022;
• USAID’s ACTB reserves the right to not award any fellowships if applications do not meet a basic minimum standard;
• All decisions taken by USAID’s ACTB will be final and no appeal is possible;

During fellowship

• All fellows must attend an in-person orientation program (dates to be announced later);
• Fellows must produce a minimum of three in-depth, feature-length, well-researched stories on TB within a period of three months after the fellowship orientation workshop. Routine news stories or event-based reporting will not be considered as part of the fellowship. At least three stories must be published monthly (one publication per month) and/or by the end of the fellowship period;
• Fellows must submit a summary of all the stories published during the fellowship as per USAID’s ACTB requirements;
• The copyright for all published stories will remain with the individual/newspaper group and not USAID’s ACTB, icddr,b or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID);
• However, USAID’s ACTB icddr,b or USAID reserve the right to post and share all published stories on relevant websites, blogs, social media channels, etc.;

Responsibilities

• Fellows are responsible for:

1. Researching the stories and ensuring the accuracy of all information;
2. Setting up and conducting interviews for all stories;
3. Undertaking field visits, interacting with the community and relevant officials, and carrying out reviews to write stories based on their selected theme;
4. Ensuring the publication of all three stories – they must be published monthly (one publication per month) in widely circulated national dailies or other widely reached media if a fellow works in the media other than newspaper;

• USAID’s ACTB may:

1. Offer technical advice fellows may want with story ideas, research, planning or identifying resource persons/interviewees;

• icddr,b will issue a certificate to the fellows upon satisfactory completion of the fellowship.