The World Health Organisation (WHO) has partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Health to organize a refresher workshop for media practitioners in the state on the latest development on the COVID-19 with the theme; Risk Communication and Community Engagement, held on Wednesday at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Nurudeen Olowopopo Way, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
The workshop coordinator fro World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tolu Folarin speaking on the essence of the training, said the training is aimed at enhancing the level of productivity and quality of reportage of journalist reporting the virus.
A resource person, Dr. Akinola Adeola also spoke on the objectives of community re-engagement. Which include ensuring that people have the live-saving information they need to protect themselves and others from the virus and to reduce its impact on health, social life and the economy.
He said “to ensure effective feedback mechanisms are in place and used to ensure two-way communication between health response authorities and communities, the public and stakeholders” he stated among others.
He however called on Nigerians not to stigmatize COVID-19 survivors, noting that stigmatization would hinder the people from speaking up if they observe the symptoms of the virus.
A resource-person from WHO, Dr Remi Kushimo, said the World health body will prioritise COVID-19 vaccination for journalists, stressing that media practitioners play pivotal roles in the fight against the virus
Dr. Kushimo said WHO is committed to raising people’s awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic.
She averred that “the people need to be informed and equipped with the right and accurate information”.
“People are in the middle fire and they are saying there is no fire. We need to raise the awareness level of the people on the virus. The ultimate solution to the virus is not going to be the vaccine but on how we break the chain of transmission. This is why education is the pillar of communication”.
“Media practitioners need to communicate to the people in a simple and clear language they could easily relate with”.
“Feedback from the public is very important and this can be gotten through various reports written by journalists.”
While responding to a question on what WHO is doing to ensure the safety of journalists reporting the virus, she said, “Journalist are our priority. We have not gone out to train any other professional just journalists”.
“Journalists are number One followed by community leaders. So when the vaccine comes, Journalist will be given priority”.
“When the vaccine arrives in the country, I am charging the media to create awareness and encourage the people to go for it. They should avoid messages that will create panic and fear in the mind of the people”.
“The right message at the right time from the right person can save lives but when we don’t have these three things together, people die.”
