Cancer Dossier: Understanding the Media Challenges
Interview with Mounira Lourhzal on the media's role in raising awareness of cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine and the limits created by the lack of official data.
Interview with Mounira Lourhzal
As part of our cancer dossier and on the occasion of World Cancer Day, Vitavox Institute looked at cervical cancer and its evolution.
To enrich this reflection and deepen our understanding of the media dynamics around this complex subject, we sought the expertise of Mounira Lourhzal. She recently devoted an article in L'Economiste to this issue, analyzing persistent challenges, particularly around HPV vaccination, screening and the economic losses linked to vaccination delays. We wanted to gather her perspective on the key issues she addressed, to further inform the debate and clarify the actions that need to be put in place.
Lack of public awareness is one of the main challenges. How would you describe the obstacles journalists face when covering a subject as complex as cervical cancer?
The issue at the heart of this article is precisely the lack of public awareness. Not only does the HPV virus thrive at the expense of public health, but its expected budgetary consequences also call public policy into question.
For this article, documenting the evolution of the vaccination campaign was the main challenge. In the absence of statistics, or because they are not communicated, it is difficult to produce confirmed and reliable information. However, the presence of WHO assessments, a civil society open to communication, and health professionals in the private sector, free from any hierarchy, makes it possible to form an empirical view. It was therefore necessary to go into the field to take the pulse of public opinion and conduct small-scale surveys - which do not replace official data - in order to reflect, at least to some extent, the scale of the phenomenon being addressed.
Awareness-raising is therefore ultimately part of every journalist's information mission.
The absence of reliable data seems to make journalists' work even more difficult. You mentioned that it was necessary to go into the field to collect empirical data. Can you tell us about the importance of this approach and the challenges linked to the absence of official statistics on the vaccine?
Apart from an official statement based on studies used in the HPV vaccination program, carried out by the Lalla Salma Foundation and the communication department of the Ministry of Health, which conclude that adherence is relatively positive, the general perception among doctors and researchers reflects the public's lack of knowledge about this vaccine and a certain taboo that cannot be considered an obstacle without a real campaign. In this sense, the association Dar Zhor shared, based on its awareness-raising experience, that with the right arguments, taboos can be overcome.
Cultural barriers therefore depend on the communication resources mobilized, but also on legislative levers that do not yet exist, although they have proven effective in other cases and other countries.
You also emphasize the influence of the media in making information accessible. In your view, what responsibility do the media have in accelerating awareness of the HPV vaccine? How could better collaboration with public institutions strengthen this effort, both in public communication and in the concrete impact of prevention campaigns?
I think the media have a major influence in transmitting information of all kinds, including vaccination. Public communication is increasingly important in media discourse, with media outlets adapting more and more to formats that are closest to the general public and best suited to broad listening or readership.
The Moroccan public is increasingly receptive to frank, conscientious information in which it recognizes itself.
As for collaboration with public institutions, the media are asking for it and, in my humble opinion, only ask to be informed and given answers.
Conclusion
This interview highlights the crucial need for transparent and adapted communication to raise public awareness of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine. Faced with challenges such as the lack of official data and cultural taboos, Mounira Lourhzal emphasizes the essential role of the media in making information accessible. Close collaboration between journalists, public institutions and health stakeholders appears to be the key to turning awareness into concrete action. By combining journalistic rigor and civic engagement, it becomes possible to remove barriers and strengthen prevention campaigns in order to better protect public health.