Watch 1st Edition of SHE & Rights Media Awards Ceremony 2024-2025 as part of WHA78 Side Event: "Delivering on UHC in an era of pushback against gender equality and human right to health"
1st Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Ojoma Akor from Nigeria is a multiple award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience covering health, gender and development among others. She presently heads the health desk of Daily Trust newspaper, a national daily in Nigeria. She has written extensively on sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and child health, gender equality, health security, immunization, infectious and non- communicable diseases, among others. Akor has received many awards, fellowships and story grants for gender, health and science reporting.
2nd Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Catherine Murombedzi from Zimbabwe is a multi-award-winning freelance health and science journalist from Zimbabwe. She writes for various media outlets including Masvingo Mirror, Zimbabwe Express, The Herald and The Sunday Mail. She advocates for the rights and dignity of women and girls, (especially of the marginalised communities) striving to create a world where their health and well-being are prioritised.
3rd Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Kalpana Acharya of Nepal is Editor-in-Chief of Nepal’s only woman led bilingual multimedia news portal -Health TV Online. She also hosts HEALTH FIRST Podcast, one of Nepal's most widely viewed health focused podcasts. She is a founding member of APCAT Media Alliance & Global AMR Media Alliance. Throughout her journalism career spanning over 2 decades Kalpana has reported extensively on public health, gender and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Special Mention Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Babacar Sene from Senegal is a French language journalist. Babacar is the Founder, and Publication Director of the Journal Agropasteur. He writes on topics related to Environment and Health, particularly gender equality in rural areas, women's rights, women's autonomy, and the resilience of agropastoral households.
Special Mention Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Audrey Galawu from Zimbabwe is a journalist and Assistant Editor Zim Now. Passionate about gender, health, and social justice, she uses storytelling to amplify underrepresented voices and challenge inequality. to protect the right to health and promote gender equity across Africa.
Special Mention Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Yecenu Sasetu from Nigeria is a dedicated health journalist with a decade of experience in radio and digital content creation. She is currently the Health Producer/Editor at Montage Radio, Abuja and broadcasts 99.9 KissFM Abuja. She combines her extensive training in journalism with a passion for development work, using media to drive positive social change.
Special Mention Prize | SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
Hamu Madzedze from Zimbabwe has 13 years of experience as a health journalist and has worked as a reporter and Radio English Desk Sub Editor with Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. She currently runs her own blog called 365HealthDiaries which focuses on health and gender issues.
More about SHE & Rights Media Awards 2024-2025
SHE & Rights Media Awards hybrid Ceremony was held at Side Event around 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland on 22nd May 2025.
The WHA78 Side Event "Delivering on UHC in an era of pushback against gender equality and human right to health" featured speakers included Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Right to Health; Nazneen Damji, Chief, a.i. Governance and Participation Section; and Senior Policy Advisor, Gender Equality, HIV and Health, UN Women; Fadekemi Akinfaderin, Chief Global Advocacy Officer, Fos Feminista (International Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice); Dr Eliezer Lappots-Abreu, Executive Director, Health Horizons International, Dominican Republic; Dr Harjyot Khosa, Senior Technical Advisor, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and member of Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC 2030; Baba Aye, Health and Social Services Officer, Public Services International (PSI); Parwen (lesbian partner who is now in Iran and her lover Maryam arrested by Taliban) and Nemat (first gay person who came out open in Afghanistan); Rachel Adau, Executive Director, Women Empowerment Centre South Sudan; Maya Ranavare, President, Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy; Daxa Patel, National Coalition of People living with HIV in India; Debanjana Choudhuri, Executive Director, Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR); Dr David Parirenyatwa, Senator and former Health Minister, Zimbabwe & President ICASA 2025; Kelcey Armstrong-Walenczak and Biruk Tewedros, Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI) - moderator; and Shobha Shukla, CNS - moderator. Dr Haileyesus Getahun, CEO of HEDPAC and CeHDI and former founding Director of Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on Antimicrobial Resistance who had served the WHO for over 2 decades, also shared his insights.
SHE & Rights Media Awards were announced by the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI) and CNS in September 2024 to shine a spotlight on those journalists and media actors who have reported on issues raised by monthly SHE & Rights sessions in gender sensitive and rights-based manner.
SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) initiative co-hosted by CeHDI, IPPF, WGNRR, ARROW, APCAT Media and CNS is committed to build, sustain and increase media understanding and engagement, around sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ), bodily autonomy and other issues related to gender justice - with the lens of equity and human right to health – in Asia Pacific and African region.
During September 2024 to March 2025, there were 282 unique media URLs/ links from 21 countries based on issues raised by monthly SHE & Rights sessions. There were 11 member panel of judges to screen these entries.
Congratulations to all the SHE & Rights Media Awardees 2024-2025!
