PROJECT #1

Over the past five years, the World Association For Christian Communications (WACC) at both the global and Africa Region level (WACC-AR) has supported JFC to undertaken a number of media-driven intervention project to advance the rights and welfare of IDPs in Nigeria.

These media-driven intervention has contributed in engendering priority attention for the advancement and respect for the rights and welfare of IDPs in Nigeria and Africa.

The JFC/WACC intervention includes the following:

Project #1: Monitoring media reportage and portrayal of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Africa: Case studies from Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya’ implemented in 2017/2018, supported by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and Waldensian Church’s Otto Per Mille (OPM).

OBJECTIVE: This project aims to examine news media portrayal of IDPs in Africa in order to draw attention and galvanize institutional and ecumenical support for protection, care and dignity of life of IDPs. The project also aimed at advance policy changes for an improvement in the social provision and services to IDPs and refugees in Africa.

The initiative, which was supported by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), Bread for the World, and Waldensian Church’s Otto per Mille (OPM) Office in Italy aims to examine the media portrayal and reportage of and about IDPs in the three case study countries with a view to identifying gaps in reportage within the context of advancing indepth reportage on IDPs in Africa. The project also aims at galvanizing stakeholders to respect and uphold basic rights and principles in line with the United Nations Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) ‘Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement’ intended to enhance an effective and timely response to the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In the final analysis, the project provided a basis of action for in-depth and balanced media reportage of IDPs as well as provide a platform that advances information exchanges and engender public engagement with institutional and ecumenical efforts to respond to the social and health challenges of IDPs and refugees.

As part of the intervention, a number of activities was simultaneously implemented in Nigeria and across the two other countries, as may be related to in-country situations.

The activities under the project are as follows: