Monday June 22, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) – Newsrooms across Eastern Africa are being urged to sharpen their coverage of migration, with journalists’ leaders vowing in Mombasa to push more accurate, ethical reporting on one of the region’s most consequential issues.
The Eastern Africa Regional Meeting on Media Capacity Building on Informed Migration Narratives and Local Opportunities, held in the Kenyan coastal city from 18 to 20 June 2026, brought together union leaders and media professionals from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The forum was organised by the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) in partnership with the Federation of Eastern Africa Journalists (FEAJ), with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM) Programme, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The meeting was hosted by the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ).
Eastern Africa remains one of Africa’s most important migration corridors, with countries in the region serving as origins, transit points and destinations for migrants and migrant workers. Labour mobility continues to influence labour markets, economic growth and regional integration, placing migration firmly among the major public interest concerns shaping African societies today.
Three Somali journalists representing the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) were among those taking part, joining colleagues from across the region in discussions on how to improve responsible reporting and ground migration coverage in verified facts.
The gathering was also part of broader work by FAJ and its affiliates to advance the commitments set out in the Dakar Communiqué on Labour Migration Reporting and the African Narrative, developed in 2024 with support from the African Union, the ILO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It also aimed to build on the Kigali Action Plan on Communicating Labour Migration and Mobility in Africa, adopted after a FAJ-ILO capacity-building workshop in Kigali, Rwanda, in January 2025.
Aida Awel, Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO’s Better Regional Migration Management Programme, said the training marked a meaningful step toward stronger, more balanced coverage of migration and employment issues.
“By equipping journalists with the knowledge and tools to report accurately and responsibly, we are contributing to greater public awareness, accountability and regional cooperation on issues that affect millions,” Awel said.
FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman said the meeting underscored the organisation’s push for public interest journalism and evidence-based reporting on migration and labour mobility across Africa.
“Migration is one of the most significant public interest issues facing Africa today. Journalists have a responsibility to report it accurately and responsibly by exposing the risks of irregular migration, horrendous abuses and exploitations while highlighting opportunities available within our countries and across the region,” Osman said.
He added that journalists have an essential role in pushing back against misinformation and disinformation by keeping migration debates anchored in verified facts.
“In an age of rampant misinformation and disinformation, public interest journalism, where information integrity is consciously preserved, is essential to ensuring that migration narratives are guided by facts rather than false promises and unrealistic expectations,” he added.
Over the three-day meeting, participants reviewed migration patterns, labour mobility trends and the social and economic pressures driving movement across Eastern Africa. The discussions focused on how journalists can help deepen public understanding while encouraging informed debate on issues affecting migrants, migrant workers and host communities.
A central moment of the forum was the regional launch of the ILO Toolkit on Migration Reporting, a practical guide designed to support journalists covering migration and labour mobility. Participants discussed how the toolkit could help raise professional standards and promote more ethical, accurate and context-aware reporting throughout the region.
The meeting also addressed the dangers linked to irregular migration, forced labour and human trafficking, while stressing the need for careful reporting that protects vulnerable communities and avoids sensationalism. Journalists also worked on strengthening fact-checking, verification and information integrity skills to keep migration coverage credible, accurate and evidence-based.
Participants also called for more media coverage of fair recruitment, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, vocational training, skills development and lawful labour mobility pathways within Eastern Africa. They argued that balanced reporting should reflect both the opportunities and the challenges tied to migration, helping communities make informed choices while challenging misleading claims that present migration abroad as the only path to economic advancement.
Beyond migration coverage, leaders of journalists’ organisations held strategic talks on media freedom, journalists’ safety, advocacy priorities and regional solidarity. They explored cross-border reporting initiatives, professional exchanges and coordinated advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening journalism, defending media freedom and advancing freedom of expression across Eastern Africa.
The meeting ended with the adoption of the Mombasa Statement on Responsible Migration Reporting, reaffirming the commitment of journalists and journalists’ organisations to ethical, balanced and evidence-based coverage of migration and labour mobility.
