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Pulitzer Center Update December 9, 2011

This Week in Review: Raising African Voices

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Researchers from the University of Washington recently published a paper suggesting that the most popular method of hormonal contraception in some parts of Africa—a hormone shot injected every three months—doubled the risk of women becoming HIV-positive. The alarming findings were a hot topic at last week's International Conference on Family Planning in Dakar, Senegal, <a href="/reporting/africa-family-planning-aids-condoms-contraception-methods">writes journalist Alexis Okeowo</a>, blogging on the New Yorker's website. Questions still remain about the study, but, as Alexis notes, answers are needed soon.<br>
The Pulitzer Center used the conference to launch <a href="/projects/africa-reproductive-health-family-planning-reporting-initiative">an ambitious Pulitzer Center project</a> in which Pulitzer grantee Jina Moore -- along with Managing Director Nathalie Applewhite and Visual Media Coordinator Jake Naughton -- <a href="/blog/africa-reproductive-health-reporting-collaboration-pulitzer-center"> will partner with four African journalists</a> to produce a series of stories on reproductive health for distribution in African and international outlets. Our aim is to advance the reporting on this chronically underreported issue and to bring a fresh African perspective to an international audience.<br>
In a parallel project, Emmy–award winner Steve Sapienza and Pulitzer Center Special Projects Coordinator Peter Sawyer are working with four West African journalists to report on water and sanitation issues. In her <a href="/reporting/liberia-cholera-water-sanitation-government-johnson-sirleaf"> latest reporting</a>, Tecee Boley, of Liberia, vividly describes the dire conditions that cause nearly one out of every five Liberians to die from water-borne disease.<br>
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Jina Moore, part of the reproductive-health reporting team, has just won the <a href="/blog/jina-moore-elizabeth-neuffer-award-un-peacebuilding"> 2011 Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize</a> gold medal, for best reporting on the United Nations. The award honors her project on UN peacebuilding activities, a Pulitzer Center-sponsored initiative that took her to four countries across Africa. The work was made possible by a grant to the Pulitzer Center from the Stanley Foundation and it was featured in the Christian Science Monitor; the Center helped organize nearly a dozen events at which Jina has spoken about her project. The collaborative approach to covering underreported issues is at the heart of our model. The Neuffer prize is a tribute to Jina's great work.<br>
Until next week,<br>
Tom Hundley
Senior Editor