The Directorate of Health Promotion and Education Unit of the Department of Health Services on Tuesday, at the Central Medical Store in Kotu held a daylong meeting for media practitioners, to discuss about the way forward for effective Coordination of Health Communication Interventions.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Modou Njai, Director of Health Promotion and Education, said they want to follow the key principles of health, which he said, cannot be made possible without the involvement of the media.

He said they want to work with the media to drive away, what he said, are those claiming to cure everything about the eye, though some eye problems can be treated traditionally.

He also said they want the media to get back to them for verification when they are confronted by such people.

Mr. Njie also appealed to the media to give them air time to enable them talk to the people on health and related issues, so as to make the public aware of their concerns and for proper coordination.

For his part, Jim Jallow, the Program Manager for Health Promotion and Education at the said ministry, who dwelt on the negative propaganda about the use of non-conventional methods of treatments, said they are not sidelining traditional medicine since it is very important. He said all they want is professionalism in the use of traditional medicine.

However, during the discussion, it was noted that some traditional healers claimed to have cures to all kinds of diseases.