The Heartbeat of the Planet self-learning course is tailored to the specific needs and interests of early and mid-career journalists reporting from the East African region.
Before we begin, please look at the pointers below to familiarize yourself with how the course is structured.
There are five modules each of which have different sections that offer a wealth of information, explainers and quizzes to help you become comfortable with investigating and answering essential questions about the impacts of climate change on public health for your audiences.
Journalists cannot ignore what has been referred to as the story of the century. Research, according to the World Health Organization, shows that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone.
After successfully completing this course, you will:
- be equipped to understand the essential climate change concepts and definitions that you will need for your reporting toolbox.
- understand how climate change impacts on the health of individuals and communities.
- learn more about the many ways in which extreme weather events directly affect people’s health in the short- and long-term.
- discover the indirect ways in which climate change affect us such as mental health and trafficking of women and children.
- report on how communities are finding solutions to the health problems they encounter due to climate change.
- have access to credible and reliable sources for your stories.