Open Call for Investigative Stories on Healthcare

• Eligibility Criteria
  For this open call for Investigative Stories on Healthcare:
  – All journalists in Albania, employed by other media outlets or in a freelance profession, have the right to apply;
  – The winning candidates are expected to commit to and fulfill all obligations related to the investigation, such as: frequent meetings with the editor, publication of the text on the BIRN Albania website, as well as compliance with the standards of investigative journalism and professional ethics;
  – Candidates must formulate a detailed proposal for the competition. Proposals must aim to expose concrete cases of lack of law enforcement, lack of access to services and transparency of institutions or corruption in the field of health;
  – Applicants may submit more than one application, but only one proposal per candidate will be selected.
• Type of Funding: Programmatic
• Target Region: Albania
• Application Language: Albanian

BIRN Albania has launched a call for investigative stories, offering grants to three journalists to produce articles on the private and public healthcare systems in Albania.

They are offering grants for three talented journalists to delve deep into healthcare-related topics, uncover hidden truths, and shed light on critical issues affecting Albanian citizens.

This call is organised as part of the project “Promoting Transparency through Investigative Journalism” funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.

Priority Areas

Priority in the selection will be given to proposals that include one of the following topics, suggested as priorities during a roundtable organised among journalists and representatives of civil society:

• Insufficient financing and budgeting for hospitals and health services.
• Trading of cytostatic drugs outside the control of the hospital regime.
• Lack of law enforcement and protocols for the treatment of patients with blood diseases.
• Non-implementation of the hospital independence process and the lack of functioning of the relevant boards.
• Financial impacts and political connections that affect the list of reimbursable drugs.
• Restrictions and penalties for family doctors by FSDKSH.
• Performance evaluation of family doctors.
• Inefficient planning and management of human resources in the health system.
• Lack of doctors, false payments and benefits, as well as additional costs for the system.
• Difficulties in the practical implementation of free healthcare for children.
• Problems related to children with HIV/AIDS and infections during hospital treatments.
• Improving forensic services and reporting violence against children.
• Combating disinformation on vaccines and its negative impact on public health.

Funding Information

• Selected applicants, who will receive a stipend of 1,200 USD (minus personal income tax), will have a three-month period to complete their investigation and prepare the article for publication.
• Selected journalists will have 3-4 months to investigate their chosen topics, conduct in-depth research, and produce high-quality articles that highlight the challenges and dynamics of Albania’s healthcare systems.

See here to learn more and apply.

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