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Citi FM’s Umaru Sanda wins UN award for SDG reporting

By CitiFMonline
General News Citi FMs Umaru Sanda wins UN award for SDG reporting
OCT 26, 2016 LISTEN

Citi FM news anchor, Umaru Sanda Amadu has received a United Nations (UN) award for reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The award was in recognition of his effort as a media practitioner to highlight issues captured by SDGs through his documentary on open defecation in Accra.

Umaru Sanda came first after Abdul Hameed Amponsah of Winneba-based Radio Peace, out of the six (6) shortlisted documentaries.

A member of the editorial committee that assessed the entries said the committee was keen on the journalists' ability to tell the stories on SDGs in a way that was education and informative and could inspire positive societal change.

For his award, Umaru Sanda received a plaque and cash prize of GH¢ 3,000.

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Abdul Hameed Amponsah who was adjudged the over winner received a plaque and GH¢ 6,000, while second runner up, Nina Abena Antwi-Kusi, received a plaque and GH¢1,000.

The top three winners will be inducted into MFWA's prestigious Journalism for Change (J4C) Network to receive regular training and opportunities to build their capacities.

The other finalists also received certificates of participation.

The Executive Director of MFWA, Dr Sulemana Briamah in an interview with citifmonline.com called on journalists in the country take seriously their roles in ensuring development of society.

He said, “that unique role can only be effectively played when journalists really do in-depth research, in-depth investigations and in-depth reporting.”

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Sulemana Briamah further urged the award winners to see the recognition as an “inspiration to do a lot more and to also encourage others to do more.”

He also noted that the award will be held annually to recognized journalists contributing toward the achievement of the global goals through their work.

The maiden SDG awards event was held in Accra on Monday [October 24] and was hosted by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in collaboration with the United Nations system in Ghana.

The event was under the theme “Mainstreaming SDGs in Development Reporting in Ghana.”

 
'Umaru Sanda's award winning documentary'
Umaru Sanda Amadu's award-winning documentary, titled “Living Open Defecation,” revealed how it appears the phenomenon of open defecation in some coastal communities especially at La in Accra may not be able to succeed in the fight against open defecation due to the lack of toilet facilities in most houses in the area.

A research conducted by UNICEF revealed that 1, out of every 5 Ghanaians defecate in the open and only 1 of 6 Ghanaians have toilets in their homes. In the rural areas, only 1 out of every 10 Ghanaians have toilets in their homes.

According to the documentary, authorities were losing the fight in combating the menace.


By: Akosua Ofewaa Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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