Knight International Health Journalism Fellow Babatunde Akpeji has begun a year-long fellowship through ICFJ to improve both the quantity and quality of health reporting in Nigeria.

Babatunde Akpeji is a Knight International Journalism Fellow who is building a network of citizen journalists to cover health in Nigeria’s Delta region, an area rich in resources but wracked by severe poverty. The citizen journalists will use mobile phones to send information to media organizations in Lagos and Abuja, ensuring better coverage of health problems related to poverty and environmental concerns.

Through this program, major media organizations will greatly expand the amount of information they bring to the public about the Niger Delta, and marginalized communities will gain a voice in the media.

During his fellowship, Babatunde also will mentor health journalists at Daily Trust, the most prominent newspaper in Northern Nigeria, where a previous Knight Fellow, Sunday Dare, established a weekly health section.