A series of four reports prepared by CONFIDENCIAL, which reveal through the analysis of data and testimonies the deliberate concealment by the State of Nicaragua in the face of the Covid-19 tragedy in Nicaragua, won the honorable mention of access to Health in the “Daily Coverage” category of the Roche Prize 2021.
“These reports based on overmortality studies carried out by health-care physicians, in the analysis of the same official data and in independent medical sources, showed for the first time that in 2020, in Nicaragua more than 6,000 people died from the pandemic”, explains the director of CONFIDENCIAL, Carlos Fernando Chamorro.
‘Dying in Nicaragua in times of coronavirus’, from the journalistic team of @confidential_ni received the honorable mention in Access to Health in the Daily Coverage category of the #PremioRoche?.
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– Gabo Foundation (@FundacionGabo) October 28, 2021
Likewise, he adds that these reports “allowed the official lie about the humanitarian tragedy to be buried and that international organizations such as PAHO proclaimed that official information cannot be trusted in Nicaragua and other independent sources of information need to be taken into account.”
The honored works
The winning articles are “Maximum lethality: 29 percent of those infected with covid-19 die in Nicaragua“,”Regime uses “comorbidity” to reduce the lethality of covid-19“,”Dying in Nicaragua in times of coronavirus” and “Regime hides more than 6000 deaths associated with covid-19”, These were published between May and October 2020.
The first of these reports analyzes the lethality of covid-19 at the Central American level during the first two months of the pandemic and studies why Nicaragua had the highest percentage in the region and the hiding in statistics that has been imposed since then.
The other three reports portray how Daniel Ortega’s regime began to use the already existing condition in patients with covid-19 to exclude the deceased from official statistics. It was counted on the analysis of medical specialists and the testimony of the Nicaraguans.
This pattern was confirmed by an analysis of excess mortality carried out by CONFIDENCIAL, in which it was revealed for the first time that between March and August 2020, more than 6000 people died, but these deaths were classified as deaths caused by diabetes, pneumonia, hypertension and heart attacks. .
“These reports are an example of how journalistic work contributes to the control of covid-19 management, even in complex contexts such as Nicaragua, which has been experiencing a social, political and economic crisis for three years, in which journalists and the media are singled out for “pandemic terrorism” for their reporting work, “said Yader Luna, deputy editor of CONFIDENCIAL, who received the tribute on behalf of the journalistic team.
Other winners
For this edition of the Roche Prize, 611 journalistic works were received, of which three finalists were selected in the categories of Written Journalism, Audiovisual Journalism and Daily Coverage. Likewise, honorable mentions for solutions journalism, journalistic coverage of COVID-19 and access to Health were chosen among these three.
In the category of audiovisual journalism, the winner was “100 days of the coronavirus pandemic” from the newspaper El Comercio (Peru), which portrayed the impact of the pandemic through a documentary series throughout Peru.
There was also an Honorable Mention on the subject of access to health in audiovisual journalism to the work “Rights are not isolated” by Chicas Poderosas de Argentina.
While in the category of Daily Coverage, the investigation “Epidemic” won, carried out by journalists Sarah Azoubel and Beatriz Guimarães, from 37 Graus and Folha S.Paulo (Brazil).
Also, for the first time, the Roche Prize awarded two honorable mentions in this category. The first for CONFIDENTIAL with her series of reports entitled “Dying in Nicaragua in times of coronavirus” and the second mention was for the Venezuelan journalist, Mariana Souquett with her coverage entitled: “Coronavirus in Venezuela”, published in Efecto Cocuyo.
For the jury, both works have a special value as they are stories investigated and disclosed in the midst of the hostile and authoritarian environment of the two nations they represent, honoring journalism’s vocation of public service and commitment to the truth.
In the category of Written Journalism, the investigation “Flee Migrar Parir ‘” won, carried out by Distintas Latitudes, GK, Mutante and La Vida de Nos (Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela).
In this same category, an honorable mention was given to the report “The consolation of a country in crisis lies with its psychology students”, by the Ecuadorian media GK. And the report “’This is how death from COVID-19 is hidden in Nicaragua’, published by the Nicaraguan media Divergentes and Connectas, was a finalist.
In the case of Periodismo de Soluciones, the advisor for that honorable mention selected the work ‘Indústria da saúde no Ceará’ as the winner. And the honorable mention in Journalistic Coverage of COVID-19: it was won by the report series ‘Sequelas da Covid-19’, by VivaBem – UOL (Brazil).
