Ethiopia: Addressing stress and trauma in challenging contexts

For decades, journalism education has focused on developing technical skills; reporting, writing, interviewing, ethics and more. Yet one critical dimension has remained largely unaddressed: the psychological toll of the work itself. Journalists routinely witness violence, document human suffering and work under intense pressure, often with neither formal support structures nor training. The mental health challenges inherent to the profession have long been treated as individual burdens rather than institutional responsibility. 

In Ethiopia, a country where journalism and press freedom face severe pressures, five universities are pioneering training and curricula development that places stress, trauma and mental wellbeing in focus. What makes this initiative particularly significant is not just what is being taught, but how it came to be: an extracurricular course co-designed by the journalism educators themselves, creating ownership and ensuring the content is grounded in the lived realities of Ethiopian journalists and educators. 

Read the full article on the Fojo website: https://fojo.se/en/strengthening-journalism-from-the-inside-out/