Inaugural TB media award winners

The winners of the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership/Red Cross Annual TB media award, which was held for the first time this year, have been announced. The award recognises outstanding print and online journalism and honours journalists who serve their readers by providing responsible, accurate and timely information on tuberculosis prevention, research, development and treatment.

The partnership is a public-private initiative led by Eli Lilly to address the expanding crisis of Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a disease that afflicts millions of people in some of the poorest regions of the world.

The sponsors are hoping to be able to open these awards to broadcast journalists in addition to print and online media in the future. They also hope that more journalists in South Africa will pay more attention to the real stories about TB, and in so doing, better inform various individuals about this generally under reported disease, which affects millions of South Africans.

Winners

First place prize of R20 000 was awarded to Olivia Rose-Innes and Ilse Salzwedel, as a combined feature article, "You too could have TB," which appeared on Health 24 and in Pulse (Summer 2008/9).
Second prize of R10 000 went to Anso Thom from Health-e News for "Treating Drug-Resistant TB at home"
Third prize of R5000 went to Chris Bateman from the South African Medical Journal for "Collaborative push to address TB crisis on mines".

Judges

Dr Norbert Ndjeka - director of Drug Resistant -TB at the National Department of Health
Tintswalo Shikwambane - Lilly MDR-TB project manager
Gerry Elsdon - media personality and global TB advocate for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Kelvin Glen - communications, fundraising and marketing manager for the South African Red Cross Society
Marion Scher, award-winning freelance journalist

Gerry Elsdon believes more should be done in terms of sharing information about TB, especially about the need for people to be tested. She has successfully been cured from TB and is passionate about helping to educate South Africans about the disease.

"Involving the media in the fight against TB, and helping to equip them with the facts is a huge step. We can no longer be ashamed or afraid to speak and act. TB is killing people all over the world, it knows no borders, it does not discriminate and it is 100% curable," she says.

Read the winning article on Health 24.