Climate Change: The Untold Story in African Newsrooms
The recent IGAD Media Awards in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, shed light on a pressing issue: climate change and its devastating impacts are being overlooked in African media. This revelation is both eye-opening and concerning, especially when considering the continent's vulnerability to climate-related disasters.
The Core Concern:
According. to the 2025 IGAD Media Awards winners from Somalia and Kenya, climate change is deeply intertwined with the region's struggles, including drought, displacement, and food insecurity. Yet, it remains a vastly underreported topic in African newsrooms. But here's where it gets controversial—is the media neglecting its duty to inform and educate the public?
The Call for Action:
Ahmed Absia, a Somali environmental advocate and journalist, believes that meaningful climate reporting is key to driving change. He argues that journalists have the power to promote accountability, raise community awareness, and foster regional cooperation. By utilizing their platforms, journalists can educate the public, showcase the evolving climate crisis, and hold government institutions accountable for their actions or lack thereof.
Absia highlights the need to investigate the implementation of climate resilience projects and applauds Ethiopia's Green Legacy initiative for its ambitious tree-planting efforts. He encourages journalists to bring grassroots initiatives to the forefront, showcasing how communities are taking charge.
The Knowledge Gap:
Kenyan winner Jamila Mohammed raises an important point: journalists must first understand climate change themselves to effectively communicate its complexities to the public. Climate conversations can be technical and challenging, but the impact is felt most by local communities. Many farmers and pastoralists may not realize that their changing weather patterns, livestock movements, and water shortages are part of a larger climate crisis.
Mohammed criticizes the media's tendency to prioritize politics over climate reporting, despite climate change being linked to various crises in Africa. She urges the media to give climate stories the attention they deserve, focusing on powerful human narratives that resonate with the public.
The Power of Climate Journalism:
Abdirahman Beryoow, a Somali photographer journalist, emphasizes the life-saving potential of climate reporting. He recalls how media alerts during recent floods helped communities take timely action. Beryoow advocates for equal visibility for climate issues as political stories, arguing that journalists should demonstrate how environmental changes impact everyday life.
The Horn of Africa, with its erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and increasing droughts and floods, is a prime example of a region facing severe climate-related risks. And this is the part most people miss—the media's role in raising awareness and driving action is crucial to building resilience.
In conclusion, the call for meaningful climate reporting is a plea for the media to become a catalyst for change. It invites journalists to embrace their responsibility to inform, educate, and inspire action. But will the media rise to the challenge? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
