Ministry of Health has asked community radio stations to take a leading role in disseminating accurate and trustworthy information about Covid-19 vaccine in order to address misconceptions that have led many people especially from rural areas to shun the jab.
The plea has been made in Blantyre on Wednesday during orientation session which the ministry brought together the community radio personnel with the aim of enhancing their capacity to create awareness about the benefits of Covid-19 vaccine.
Senior Health Promotion Officer in the Ministry of Health, Alvin Chidothi Phiri, said the community radios have more listenership in the rural areas hence the need to utilize them.
Phiri said: “Lack of accurate and trustworthy information can lead to rumours and misinformation, resulting in panic, chaos or practices that put people at even more risk of not accessing vaccine therefore journalists and media organisations can help to fill dangerous information vacuum and counter incorrect information.”
He also advised the journalists to seek information from credible sources.
On the running out of the vaccine in the country, Phiri has urged the media to assure people that the jab will be made available soon.
And commenting on the meeting, one of the participants, Ester Nyanja, from Kuwala community radio, said the session has come at a right time as there are growing misconceptions among people about the vaccine.
“This session has come at an opportune time as we are struggling to convince people about the importance of covid-19 vaccine and a number of them which is not conversant about the vaccine is large in our communities,” she said.
She further said the community radios are usually located in rural areas and more people in those communities have more trust in what they hear from such radios hence it is easier to convince them.
The Ministry of Health organised the event through the Health Education Service (HES) and the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), with support from World Health Organisation (WHO).
