AFAS Press News Editor wins Continental Award

Olanshile Ogunrinu

AFAS Press News Editor, Tijani Abdulkabeer, has emerged as the 2022 winner of the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) prize for emerging health technologies in the online Category.

Abdulkabeer clinched the award with $2500 cash prize at the virtual award ceremony held today, March 9, 2023 for his story- “Health tech: A non-profit is using artificial intelligence to link blood donors.”

Recall that the story had previously emerged second runner up for the Best Health Reporting category of the 2022 Alfred Opubor Next-Gen Campus Reporters Award.

The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) is an African-led, regional non-profit policy think tank, headquarted in Malawi and Kenya, established in 2010 to help bridge the gaps between research, policy and practice in development efforts in Africa. They analyse, synthesise, and translate evidence (i.e. data and research) and use it to generate or strengthen political commitment, inform resource allocation, programme design and implementation. The aim is to contribute to the realisation of sustainable development by enabling the formulation of sound policies and programme interventions.

Abdulkabeer, in his acceptance speech, expressed what the award meant to him as he emphasized on the values of excellence.

“Winning this award, and Alfred Opubor last year with this same story has taught me two things: Excellence has its rewards and that due diligence is an important ingredient to succeed as a journalist,” he said.

“Telling the stories of people and initiatives working endlessly to change the narratives has always been my passion. This particular one started with pitching a different story idea but my editor, Seun Durojaiye, told me to drop it and look for another one. I remembered vividly that I came back with two other story ideas but she picked this very one, gave a few pointers and that was how it all started

“This piece spotlights the challenge that people face in getting timely access to blood donors in Nigeria. This is a more serious problem for those living in rural areas across the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that every country in the world implements systems that make access to blood seamless but despite establishing the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), Nigeria still struggles to get donors.

He ended the speech by appreciating colleagues and dedicating the awards to whose who have been pivotal to his reporting.

“Winning a prestigious award like this would further boost my interest in contributing to solutions pathways, especially in the area of emerging health technology through storytelling. The award means the panel of judges finds the quality of my work and the level of consistency that I invested in journalism very important and it signals a call.”