News platforms on health are hard to find and their content is especially valuable when they are independent from potentially biased funding sources. The global pandemic has increased audience interest in health matters and appreciation for good health reporting. Unfortunately, the level of misinformation has also confused people about the nature of the pandemic and contributed to vaccine hesitancy.

Our first HJN webinar in Spanish featured a rich discussion moderated by TV presenter and Internews Pandemic Media Mentor Graziella Almendral on the value of health news platforms in bringing quality health information to audiences. It also shed light on the impact of the pandemic on health reporting and on the kinds of voices that are either included or excluded from mainstream media when discussing health.

Paula Andalo, Ethnic Media Editor at Kaiser Health News—a U.S. based non-profit media platform specialized in health that delivers quality content in multiple languages, and Fabiola Torres, founder of Salud con Lupa—a collaborative journalism digital platform on public health based in Peru—shared their perspectives on the challenges and rewards of covering health and the responsibility of keeping the public informed and updated on vital issues. Listen to the webinar recording below.