African Public Radio (APR) used its power as a media entity to influence individuals and groups who could help fix the situation in Burundi’s hospitals, where poor people were being held against their will because they could not pay their bills. Eventually, in partnership with local NGOs, APR successfully pressured the government to order the people’s release.
Raising Awareness of Medical Detentions in Burundi
In war-stricken Burundi, many cannot afford needed medical care. Adding to the problem, a general system breakdown in the 1990s reduced the state’s capacity to support the health system. Facing a budget crisis and growing debt, hospitals began to detain people who could not pay their bills. Because the hospitals felt they were being wronged by those who would not pay, they did not see this as a human rights issue.
After gaining access to detainees and winning their trust, APR secretly interviewed them and broadcast their testimonies. The broadcasts included messages targeted to specific groups and individuals who had power to fix the situation. After the first broadcast, APR joined forces with national and international NGOs, hosting a café presse —an elaborate press conference — on health care with government officials and other influential people. The final discussion addressed the detentions themselves and put moral pressure on the government to respond.
In April 2002, the Council of Ministers forbade hospital detentions and ordered the hospitals to free all detainees. The government also created a commission to examine the larger issues of access to health care and reforms of national health policy.
Journalists play a vital role in raising awareness of human rights abuses and influencing change. In Burundi, radio journalists successfully urged government officials to address human rights violations in hospitals by sharing compelling victim stories. Identifying receptive audiences, such as these officials, was key to the tactic's success, as their moral obligation to act was heightened by public exposure. However, there were risks, including potential retaliation from hospitals against featured patients or stigma surrounding their illnesses. For this approach to work, journalists must be committed to advancing human rights issues actively.
New Tactics in Human Rights does not advocate for or endorse specific tactics, policies or issues.
