Internews’ #InformationSavesLives campaign provides updates from journalists around the world on how they’re coping with coronavirus coverage and maintaining their operations. Learn more and donate to the Rapid Response Fund to help meet the needs of journalists.
Wenceslaus Mushi, Internews’ Media and Communications Director in Tanzania, says that trainers who have been working with community radio stations say that journalists often go out without the proper gear needed to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Journalists in Tanzania are also concerned that they are not getting enough information about the coronavirus, especially at the local level.
“Our biggest fear is that information to the most vulnerable groups in our societies, in our communities, may not reach them in time to help them cope with how to protect themselves,” says Wenceslaus.
Radio station personnel are eager to get accurate information to their communities but they need training and support for the infrastructure, such as Internet access, needed to deliver the information.
Internews in Tanzania is attempting to fill the gap by providing online roundtables where journalists can ask questions and get answers about the virus and how to report on it.
The pandemic crisis is also an information crisis, and journalists are the first responders. In an emergency, information saves lives. Please help those on the information front line.