By: Theresa Donatus, Uyo.

Wiki Health Africa has inaugurated 22 health fellows from across Africa under its African Health Editors Fellowship Cohort 2025/2026, marking a major step toward strengthening credible health information and combating misinformation on the continent.

The inauguration ceremony was held virtually via Zoom yesterday, bringing together health professionals and media practitioners from Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Benin.

The fellowship, led by Dr. Tesleemah Abdulkareem, was designed to bridge the gap in health misinformation and unite health professionals across Africa to improve the quality and representation of African health content on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

The newly inaugurated fellows include pharmacists, medical doctors, nurses, radiographers, optometrists, health educators, journalists, translators, and software developers. Among them are Theresa Ekemini Donatus, a media-health correspondent from Nigeria; Temiyemi Sherif Alao, a pharmacist; Dr. Peculiar Osayemere Idiagbonya, an optometrist; Dr. Abubakar Bakiru Wabi, a medical doctor; and Kamal Alao Ashimiyu, a medical radiographer, all from Nigeria.

Other fellows include health and media professionals from Ghana, such as Seimawu Sugri Seidu, Faisal Ali, Fuseini Jemir Shamir, Munkaila Ridwan, Ragadawu Alhassan, and Maureen LD Owusu-Addae; Bukeka Mkhosi from South Africa; Mukoh Geraldine Nchang from Cameroon; Fabrice Kabamba Ngalamulume from the Democratic Republic of Congo; Dr. Mugenyi Nathan, Kasozi Denis, and Nahurira Daphine from Uganda; and Fifamè Laurence Esther Adjaho ssou from Benin.

According to the organisers, the mission of the fellowship is to unite health professionals across Africa, empower them with accurate information, fight preventable diseases, and curb the spread of health misinformation in media and digital spaces.

The programme adopts the Wikimedia Core Curriculum, a globally recognised learning pathway developed by the Wikimedia Foundation’s Community Development team in collaboration with volunteers worldwide.

The curriculum equips participants with the skills required to contribute responsibly to open-access platforms, particularly on sensitive health and biomedical topics.

Although the curriculum was designed as a self-paced programme, the fellowship complemented it with facilitator-led virtual onboarding and training sessions, including an interactive onboarding held on November 29, 2025.

These sessions allowed participants to engage directly with trainers, receive real-time feedback, and gain clarity on Wikipedia policies and editing standards.

Speaking on the importance of the training, Dr. Abdulkareem explained that the live sessions were crucial in helping first-time editors navigate Wikipedia’s collaborative environment.

“The live onboarding and introductory sessions were organised to ensure that participants clearly understood Wikipedia’s standards, especially as they relate to health information, where accuracy and balance are critical,” she said.

The training programme addressed key areas such as the Wikimedia ecosystem, neutral point of view, reliable sourcing, notability guidelines, copyright principles, and diverse forms of participation, including article creation, translation, and media uploads.

Participants were also introduced to ethical guidelines and safety policies aligned with Wikimedia standards to ensure an inclusive and harassment-free learning environment.

On December 7, 2025, the fellowship hosted its first community session featuring Dr. James Heilman, Chairman of WikiProject Medicine, and Chinti Chathurika, a Translation Coordinator. The session focused on contributing to medical articles and translating health content into local languages.

A regional panel discussion was later held on December 19, 2025, with African Wikimedia community leaders John Joy (Nigeria), Ruby D-Brown (Ghana), and Gayo Bah (Gambia), who discussed collaboration, dispute resolution, and respectful engagement within the Wikimedia community.

One of the fellows, Theresa Ekemini Donatus, described the training as timely and impactful, noting that it helped her understand how professional health reporting skills can be applied to improve public access to reliable health information on Wikipedia.

The fellowship follows a hybrid learning model that combines independent study with guided instruction. Participants complete modules ranging from one to three hours and receive certificates upon completion.

Local coordinators have also been appointed to support upcoming health projects across Africa, including Fabrice Kabamba (DRC), Kasozi Denis (Uganda), Esther (Benin), Lateefah Oseni (Nigeria), Bukeka Mkhosi (South Africa), Sugri Suweidu (Ghana), and Md Ndestain (Cameroon).

The organising team includes Dr. Tesleemah Abdulkareem as Project Manager, Taofeeq Abdulkareem as Communication Manager, Taoheedah as Research Coordinator, with support from Eunice Ameh and Abdullahalaba.

As the programme nears its conclusion, organisers say the fellowship represents a significant contribution to Africa’s digital health information landscape.

“By equipping health editors and journalists with Wikimedia skills, we are contributing to better public understanding of health issues and strengthening trust in open knowledge platforms,” Dr. Abdulkareem said.

Graduates of the programme are expected to continue contributing to Wikimedia projects, mentor new editors, and support efforts to improve the visibility and quality of health-related content relevant to African contexts.