Communication in Africa in the time of COVID-19: Experiences from Central Africa
Johannesburg, August 4, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic now has a firm grip in Africa. There are more than 415 000 cases and 10 000 deaths on the continent. The pandemic, has without a doubt, impacted the world of communications and the media landscape at large.
On July 30th the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, hosted an online discussion with media representatives from Central Africa, to explore how the pandemic is impacting the media landscape across the continent.
AUDA-NEPAD recognises the importance of engaging with the media even in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar series held with media across the continent by the agency has made clear the need to form stronger coalitions with media networks and communication experts to build a stronger voice for Africa. The series has also revealed various ways of adaption, as well as new and innovative solutions used to overcome communication challenges that the pandemic has brought in the media space in various countries in Africa and the world as a whole.
Moderated by Ibrahim Gourouza, Head of Private Sector Engagement at AUDA-NEPAD, the dialogue included panellists from Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and the Economic Community of Central African States Economic Community (ECCAS).
Acknowledging the important role played by the media in COVID-19 pandemic Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, the AUDA-NEPAD CEO said, “We are all in a learning phase because COVID-19 is a new phenomenon. The solutions need to come from experts listening to those on the ground, especially because the media analyses the global, national and local situations first-hand. This necessitates us, as the development agency of the African Union to humble ourselves and listen to feedback from the media.”
At the start of the discussion, Chimwemwe Chamdimba, Principal Programme Officer Health at AUDA-NEPAD gave an update on the COVID-19 Workplace Response Trainings on Occupational Safety and Health for all sectors, that have been conducted to support African institutions and AU Members States since the onset of the contagion.
Jean-Claude Mbassi, Head of Information and Documentation Centre at ECCAS, spoke on the COVID-19 response strategy developed by the organisation. He stated that ECCAS strategy has the following areas of focus: prevention of the spread of the virus; limiting the mortality rate and manage positive cases; responding to the socio-economic and security impact,and; communicating effectively on the pandemic. According to Mr Mbassi, despite the havoc it has brought, the pandemic also created an opportunity to be innovative in the area of communications.
Martine Noelle Ndengue, Journalist at Cameroon Radio Television informed participants that her country is the most affected by COVID-19 in the region with over 17000 cases. She stated that initially, the media was not ready to handle such a pandemic in Cameroon, but it quickly adjusted to the situation to increase sensitisation around COVID-19.
Speaking on the experiences from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabrielle Mitch remarked that COVID-19 is not the first epidemic that the country has been faced with, hence, the country was able to quickly respond to it, based on its previous experiences with other epidemics.
Rodney Ovono, Sports Editor at Gabon24 reported on the country’s quick response strategy which aimed to strengthen the health system, and specific activities focused on prevention, detection and case management.
Ms Viviane Bahoken from Africa24 TV in Cameroon spoke on the news agency’s partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). She said that the news agency has been relying on the Africa CDC for daily and accurate statistics on the pandemic to curb misinformation.
The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD media webinar series “Communication in Africa in the time of COVID-19” will cover one more region, Southern Africa following its successful dialogues held for West, East and North Africa. The series will be followed by a continental dialogue session that will draw on the lessons and experiences shared from across the different parts of the continent.
The video recording of the dialogue can be accessed at: