The Participatory Communication for Gender Development Initiative (PAGED Initiative) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have signed an agreement to combat misinformation about Covid-19 in Nigeria.
The partnership aims to use credible information to change negative narratives among Nigerians and also protect them from contracting Covid-19.
Viral spread of misinformation is a global problem that is empowered by information and communication technology (ICT).
Some of the widely shared misinformation in Africa include conspiracies around unproven treatments, false cures and anti-vaccine messages.
According to UN Global Pulse, information on Covid-19 was shared and viewed more than 16 billion times and mentioned over six million times on Twitter and web-based news sites between November 2020 and March 2021 in 47 African countries, including Nigeria.
PAGED Initiative is part of Covid-19 Media Response in Africa project that works together with Free Press Unlimited from The Netherlands and a network of over 50 Nigerian journalists to ensure reliable Covid-19 information is disseminated in Africa.
The NOA Director General, Garba Abari, represented by Director, Special Duties and State Operations, Mette Edekobi, said the agency has been working to provide reliable and credible information to sensitise and mobilise Nigerians in the nooks and crannies of the country on various issues identified with the pandemic.
Earlier, the PAGED Initiative team lead, Ummi Bukar, said the NGO was training the media on Covid-19 communication and has produced an animated short video on the pandemic in English and Hausa which is being used in communicating reliable information.
She said the partnership with NOA would enable PAGED Initiative to leverage the agency’s robust platforms to reach out to grassroot communities.
In a similar move, the African Union (AU), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the ONE Campaign have launched a TikTok campaign to counter misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines on social media.
This campaign – under the hashtag #MythOrVax – aims to dispel myths and correct inaccurate information about Covid-19 while addressing ongoing fears and concerns and raising awareness about the importance of vaccination.
Photo source: World Bank
