Kano State Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has called for regular media engagement especially during health emergencies to check disemination of unverified information on outbreak of diseases.
The KNCDC Director General, Prof. Mohammad Adamu Abbas stated this on Sunday in Kaduna at a two-day Media and Social Media engagement for Effective Outbreak Communication in Kano State.
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The workshop themed “ Emergency Risks Communication Framework in Kano, was organized by the KNCDC with support from the UK-FCDO– Lafiya Programme.
He said media engagement is critical during health emergencies such as disease outbreaks, pandemics and environmental disasters which spread rapidly, generate fear, misinformation, and uncertainty.
“Effective media is essential for timely communication, public awareness and coordinated response,” Prof. Abbas said.
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He noted that during health emergencies, the media serves as the primary source of information for the public, amplify official health messages and shape public perception of behaviour.
“Media messages much alien with surveillance data, avoid release of unverified information to ensure confidentiality and ethical communication,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Kano State commissioner of health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf praised the KNCDC for organization the program as it would go along way in feeding the public with the correct information without causing panic.
“The program aims to ensure that the public is fed with information without causing panic because causing panic can be more dangerous than the disease.
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“Health reportage must be evidence-based, simple, clear, and actionable,” the commissioner said.
The workshop was attended by Journalists , Broadcasters, Digital Media Practitioners, and Social Media Supporters, among others.
