Healthcare professional warns of traveling journalists’ risks

BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) — A travel medicine expert on Tuesday warned that journalists’ frequent travel has brought an increasing threat to their health.

“The risks to journalists’ well-being aren’t confined to the hazards of reporting from hostile environments, but often extend to medical issues that prove fatal and commonly involve road traffic accidents,” said John Williams, managing director of International SOS China.

Williams noted at a workshop on reporters’ safety that the risks of contracting contagious diseases in a world where “everything has become so immediate, global and international.”

In addition, when working in unfamiliar environments, especially in remote or those home to conflict, journalists may find it difficult to access reliable health care, he said.

To minimize health and security risks for journalists, Williams suggested media organizations and employers devote more resources to the subject and offer comprehensive training before dispatching their staff.

The five-day training course, launched on Monday and organized by the World Media Summit Secretariat, focuses on practical strategies for journalists working in hostile environments featuring war, conflict, plague and natural disasters.

It is being attended by 50 journalists with news organizations from 30 countries, including Afghanistan’s Bakhtar News Agency, the Middle East News Agency and the Quryna Libyan Newspaper. <Xinhua>

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