Alarmed by the reported surge in the death of Journalists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the professionals have been advised to prioritise their health to reverse the trend.
The Director General, National Senior Citizens Center, Dr Emem Omokaro, gave the advice on Tuesday, while speaking at the Health and Wellness Seminar organized by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, held at the Secretariat in Utako, Abuja.
The Seminar, with the theme: “Occupational Health Awareness and Social Welfare,” was organized to raise awareness about some choices that are harmful to the journalists’ physical, mental, and emotional health, and the need for a change.
Speaking, Dr. Omokaro said the journalists, due to the nature of their jobs are often faced with occupational hazards, consequently, must be conscious of their health and well-being.
She also advised the journalists to engage in self-evaluation from time to time to ascertain the level of their contributions to the profession and the gains made over time. Admonishing them to invest in themselves so as not to become anxious when exiting the job, and develop mental health problems for lack of building capacities.
While calling on employers to invest in health insurance for journalists, the DG urged the journalists to leverage the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) that takes care of work-related injuries, as it is their right to do so.
Unfortunately, she said majority of the employees, especially, government employees are ignorant of their rights, consequently, do not ask for compensations when they are injured on their jobs.
Corroborating her, Medical Law Practice and Ethics/ Health Insurance Expert, Mrs. Bolanle Ernest-Egbe, said the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS), is available to take care of work-related injuries.
“Any injuries traceable to the kind of work you do, you can enforce such recovery through NSITF,” she said.
She however, explained that the scheme is only available to employees that are in active service and not those that are retired.
On his part, the Assistant National Secretary, NUJ National Secretariat, Mr. Onyebuchi Eze, advised journalists to cut down on alcohol intake and invest massively towards their retirement.
He said as professionals nosing around for news, journalists are exposed to all kinds of health hazards, therefore, they should take their health seriously by visiting the hospitals regularly for checkups.
Earlier, the Chairman, FCT NUJ Council, Ms Grace Ike expressed the Union’s willingness to partner with the NSITF to create more awareness on health Insurance, and how to access the funds when hit with work-related injuries.
She said the Union would do everything within its capacity to ensure a better healthcare provision for its members.
