Abstract
Background: For over a hundred thirty years, consecutive Ethiopian regimes have denied the Oromo people the right to develop free media. In this paper I explore how this denial has affected the development of public health conditions in Oromia. Methods: Using the “upstream” public health metaphor as the framework of thinking, in this paper I explore how the denial of free media has hindered the development of better public health conditions. Finding: Although media and public health are distinct social organizations, many of their functions overlap, with the former significantly supporting the development of the latter. Media informs, educates, entertains, molds opinion, advocates, provides a framework of thinking, connects people and ideas, and records events. The foundation of public health rests on the study of risks to population health and identifying health promotion as well as disease prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary) tools. Media facilitates knowledge construction and its dissemination. It supports the efforts societies make in establishing and maintaining the social conditions that will ensure the best public health outcomes possible. Conclusion: Since media facilitates knowledge construction and knowledge dissemination, it can help produce knowledgeable and critical citizens who are equipped with problem-solving skills. Denying the Oromo people the right to develop their own free media is hindering them from having people with skills who are critically needed in transforming their society and developing better public health conditions.
Highlights
Whoever controls the media controls the mind
The objective of this paper is to explore whether the absence of free media hinders the development of better public health conditions
Using the framework of “the upstream” public health metaphor of disease prevention and health promotion, this paper asks several questions and makes effort to connect all the dots and answer them. These questions include: “what is media and public health, what are the conditions of free media and public health in Oromia, why does the Ethiopian government deny the rights of Oromo people developing a free media, what are the relationships between media and public health, what are the impacts of the denial of the rights to develop media on public health conditions in Oromia, what can we do about it in the future?
Summary
The Oromo, and others who are denied the right to develop their own media, need to critically analyze the objectives of the colonial powers in denying them their own media and the implications of such denial It is in this complex context that I explore the role of free media in the development of public health conditions. The media is an essential tool to disseminate knowledge and facilitate knowledge construction, and the development of an independent media is critical to the social transformation of a society and the improvement of public health conditions. Media as I scud before is an essential tool to disseminate knowledge and facilitate knowledge construction This makes the development of an independent media critical to the social transformation of a society and to the betterment of public health conditions.
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