In the Middle East, bloggers and digital journalists are covering stories and sparking debates on topics avoided by mainstream media. Knight International created an online networking site in Syria that enables young reporters to share resources, experiences. Called Tawasul – Arabic for "connecting" – the network features multimedia stories, including photography, cartoons and animation, on social issues. Their stories focus on social issues such as maternal and child health, gender equality and religious tolerance.

Knight International is working to make health reporting a regular beat at one of Zambia's leading newspapers. Knight Fellow Antigone Barton helped to establish the first health desk at the Zambia Daily Mail, one of the country's most influential newspapers. Under her coaching and mentoring, the staff markedly increased the quality and quantity of health stories on topics such as HIV/AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis, cholera and malaria. Barton’s fellowship ended in February 2010.

Joachim Buwembo helped to create Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First), now a financially vibrant weekly publication focusing on agriculture issues. The eight-page supplement is published in English and Kiswahili by the Guardian Newspapers, the country’s top independent newspaper group.

Since it began, the supplement has featured more than 200 stories. Some reports led to new bank loans for farmers to buy imported tractors that lay idle as well as to increased government investment in dairy equipment and irrigation.

Knight International has made huge inroads in health coverage in Uganda. Over the past 2.5 years, Knight Fellow Christopher Conte has developed a vibrant community of journalists who now have the expertise to tackle tough health issues including the AIDS epidemic and health-care spending.

Zarina Geloo launched the country’s first weekly health page in the Times of Zambia, the country’s largest daily newspaper. She trained a team of a dozen reporters to cover issues such as AIDS prevention, malaria, measles and cancer.

A front-page story on a measles epidemic led to a government vaccination campaign targeting 1.6 million people. A series on typhoid cases from contaminated drinking water in the capital triggered a government investigation and a new water treatment program.

The Kenya Alliance of Health and Science Reporters (KAHSR), a journalism association Rachel Jones launched in November, now offers regular training workshops and resources on topics such as new vaccines, children’s health and agricultural research. The association is supported by a grant from the London-based Wellcome Trust. At Alliance workshops, journalists can interact with the country’s leading medical researchers and scientists.

Mia Malan launched the first weekly health program at Soweto TV, the largest community TV station in Africa, with more than 1 million viewers. She trained a team to produce high-quality feature reports for the show with a special focus on HIV/AIDS. The half-hour show features topics such as the use and abuse of antiretroviral drugs, male circumcision, attention-deficit disorder and organ transplants.

In addition to the new half-hour weekly show, health stories on Soweto TV’s daily news reports have increased threefold as a result of Malan’s efforts.

Sylvia Vollenhoven created a weekly radio show that has transformed coverage of social issues and poverty in Ghana. On the popular “Hotline” show, Joy FM, the country’s top English language station, reporters have produced NPR-quality documentaries on topics ranging from the plight of illegal miners and the threat of erosion on fishing villages to the consequences of chronic flooding that kills dozens and leaves thousands homeless every year.

ICFJ conducted a four-day regional health journalism conference for 35 journalists from 12 Latin American countries. Topical training focused on coverage of cancer, smocking cessation, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Journalists learned techniques for analyzing scientific journal articles, making stories of new scientific disclosures and researching medical issues using the Internet. Participants also learn about producing stories for multimedia platforms.

How well prepared are journalists from the U.S. Hispanic media and the media organizations of Latin America, which typically have far fewer resources, to provide ample coverage? How much less prepared are the people whom these journalists serve when they confront disaster? How well prepared are the journalists themselves, who are after all among the ranks of “first responders” at the scene of any disaster?

To provide answers to these questions, ICFJ developed an 8-day training program for 14 U.S.