By Kemo Cham in Addis Ababa
The media must be carried along in the fight against health emergencies to effectively counter mis and disinformation, Deputy Director General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), has said.
Dr Raji Tajudeen Mohamed said Mis and Disinformation were major drivers of health emergencies, as was witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that the media has become a key pillar to counter such.
“Without taking the media along, there is no way we can bring any outbreak under control,” Dr Mohamed told journalists during the opening session of a media engagement at the Africa CDC headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, August 19.
Africa CDC is a specialized technical health institution of the African Union, established in 2016 by the 26th Ordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Government. It was officially lunched one year later. It has the mandate of supporting public health initiatives of Member States and strengthen the capacity of their public health institutions to detect, prevent, control and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats as in the case of Coronavirus and other life threatening diseases.
The agency also serves as a voice for Africa thereby showcasing African stories to the whole world.
The Roundtable Workshop for Media Executives and Science/Health Journalists which was convened from 19-20 August, 2024, is the first ever in-person meeting between the agency and editors and science/health journalists. The event was convened on the theme ‘Building a Strong and Effective Media Engagement Partnership for Africa CDC’.
Africa CDC’s Communication Directorate said the aim is to provide media executives with first-hand information and a comprehensive knowledge on the agency’s mandate, its vision (2023-2027) and the New Public health order. The New Public Health is designed to strengthen Africa’s public health system and enhance its readiness to address disease threats.
The overall objective of the workshop was to establish partnership and commitment with media executives in order to help push forward Africa CDC’s work and expand it visibility by accurately reporting the achievements and impact to their various audiences.
30 journalists from across the four regions of the continent attended the event.
The workshop comes at the backdrop of ongoing emergency on the Mpox virus outbreak, which was declared last week as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.
The two-day workshop entails sessions designed to acquaint the participants with the structure of the Africa CDC, it’s mandate and achievement over the years.
On the first day of the event, the participants visited the Emergency Operations Center of the agency where they were taken through its mandates.
