Journalists have been called upon to champion the fight to eliminate malaria by 2030.
The call was made by the Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Anthony Adofo Ofosu, at the launch of the ‘Zero Malaria Starts With Me’ at the Mensvic Hotel in Accra.
It came with the unveiling of the Malaria Media Coalition.
The Coalition is aimed at empowering journalists to produce accurate and high-quality media output on regular basis to maximize the role they play in malaria advocacy and communication initiatives and to provide a sustainable platform for coordination and collaboration at a national and sub-national level.
It includes journalists across the country.
Giving the keynote address, Dr Adofo Ofosu urged all stakeholders and the media to champion this fight and be responsible to achieve the target of elimination by 2030.
“We must ensure that the investment are sustainable and meet specific needs of all communities and give in all the support that will help to deliver integrated power package in response to a decrease in interest in malaria services through accurate dissemination of malaria messages to community members.”
He said the ‘Zero Malaria Starts with Me’ fully acknowledges and embraces the important role that the media play in advocacy and communication, adding that malaria remains one of the greatest public health challenges, and that the media coalition in Ghana would bring the country one step closer to making the end malaria vision a reality.
The Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Keziah Malm, together with the other partners, congratulated members of the coalition for availing themselves for the position, and pledged that NMCP and its partners would effectively collaborate with the media and provide journalists with all the needed information and resources for effective reporting on malaria to ensure success in the delivery of an integrated response towards elimination.
The coalition has in the meantime declared its commitment to the elimination of malaria in Ghana by the year 2030 by championing the fight, taking responsibility for its role through proactive, regular, accurate, and high-quality media output of news on malaria and also holding decision-makers accountable by reporting on issues, which drive national conversations.
The Malaria Media Coalition was first launched in Senegal in 2014 by the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) in collaboration with the African Media and Malaria Research Network and Speak Up Africa, an advocacy and communication organisation based in Senegal.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana