Howard G. Buffett Foundation Awards $2.5 Million for African Media Initiative
The International Women's Media Foundation has announced a four-year, $2.5 million grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to increase and enhance reporting on agriculture and rural development in Africa, incorporate women's roles in the coverage of agriculture and rural economics, and create more gender equality in newsrooms.
The project will include an assessment of current news media coverage of agriculture, rural development, and gender-related issues. IWMF intends to expand on a recently completed pilot project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that significantly enhanced the coverage of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in Africa.
"Agriculture plays a crucial role in African economies," said IWMF executive director Jane Ransom. "Poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition remain major challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Each of these issues is closely tied to agriculture, where there is a serious crisis in production. The media have a crucial role to play by reporting on the crisis and by amplifying their voices in the ongoing dialogue on agriculture, rural development, and women."
Related content
