Chapter

Methodology

How the 2026 report was researched: 36 in-depth interviews across 11 African countries plus Western legacy media, mapping the editorial realities shaping health journalism in 2026.

  1. 36 in-depth interviews

    Working journalists, editors, and specialised experts across 11 key media hubs in Africa, alongside Western legacy media.

  2. 11 African countries surveyed

    Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

  3. Diverse media representation

    Print, broadcast, digital, and NGO outlets — major public media, consumer health, professional, development-focused, and civil-society organisations.

  4. Western legacy perspectives included

    Perspectives from France, the UK, and the US — reflecting the donor-country shifts that now dominate African health storylines.

The Africa Health Media Trends Report 2026 is based on 36 in-depth interviews with journalists, editors, and specialised experts across 11 key media hubs in Africa, alongside a selection of Western legacy media. The report launched in Nairobi on 26 February 2026.

African countries covered

Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Why these countries

The sample maps the continent’s major health-media hubs across Anglophone East and Southern Africa, Francophone West Africa, and North Africa. Together they represent the newsrooms most likely to set the editorial agenda for African health reporting in 2026.

Why we also looked beyond Africa

Africa is of strategic importance to France and the UK due to its rapidly growing healthcare needs, emerging markets, and increasing investment opportunities. 2025 also saw the US act as a precursor in health-funding cuts and policy changes affecting Africa, while France eliminated its “Solidarity Fund for Development” — a long-standing source of innovative financing for multilateral health programmes like Unitaid and the Global Fund. To capture how those shifts will reshape African health narratives, the report also includes perspectives from France, the UK, and the US.

Distribution of interviews

  • Morocco — 4
  • Senegal — 3
  • Côte d’Ivoire — 4
  • Ghana — 5
  • Cameroon — 3
  • Nigeria — 5
  • Egypt — 1
  • Kenya — 3
  • Uganda — 3
  • Tanzania — 1
  • South Africa — 2
  • Global / Western legacy media — 3

Diverse media representation

The interviewed outlets span print, broadcast, digital media, and NGOs. They include major public-service broadcasters, consumer health outlets, health-industry and professional publications, specialist development-focused outlets, and civil-society organisations.

A full list of media interviewed is provided at the end of the published report (see the PDF, page 68 onwards).