Dr. Muhiuddin Haider Trains Bangladeshi Journalists through Voice of America

Dr. Muhiuddin Haider

In May, Dr. Muhiuddin Haider, research professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, traveled to his home country of Bangladesh to educate local journalists about avian influenza and disaster preparedness.

The workshop was sponsored by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (the U.S. federal agency that oversees the Voice of America) and USAID. The World Health Organization and local fire and civil defense officials also took part.

Dr. Donald Milton, professor and director of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, stressed the importance such training programs to public health.

“Dissemination of accurate information through news media is a critical ingredient of effective public health responses to influenza pandemics and other health emergencies,” he said. “Thus, the training that Dr. Haider provided is an important part of building a resilient public health infrastructure.”

The Broadcasting Board of Governors viewed the two-day training program as “incredibly successful,” according to Joan Mower, Head of Development for Voice of America, and is pursuing further collaboration with Dr. Haider and the University of Maryland.

Dr. Haider speaks with a radio host during an interview
in Bangladesh. 

“Our funders at the State Department were very happy with the outcomes,” Mower wrote in an email. “The number one ‘ask’ from the Bangladesh reporters was for more training.”

So far, Dr. Haider's paper "Disease Management of Avian Influenza H5N1 in Bangladesh – A Focus on Maintaining Healthy Live Birds" has been accessed over 1, 500 times from countries such as Bangladesh, India and Japan.

Bangladesh, with a population of over 164 million, has historically struggled with poverty, political instability and religious unrest. Recent disasters, such as the outbreak of the new influenza strain (H7N9) in Asia and the collapse of a factory building that killed over 1,200, have put further strain on the country and posed challenges to local journalists attempting to provide appropriate coverage.

Dr. Haider’s experience with global health communication and his familiarity with the Bangladeshi culture and language allowed him to bring a culturally sensitive approach to the training sessions. Since 2009, he has been teaching students in the Global Health Certificate program offered by the School of Public Health. Dr. Haider’s expertise with communications capacity building and development in emergency situations, specifically avian influenza communication through public-private partnerships in South Asia, are a great asset to Bangladeshi journalists.

Journalists in Bangladesh who participated in the training program.