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Giving Out False Covid-19 Information Annoys Health Workers

Participants and facilitators during the training Participants and facilitators during the training - pic by Raphael Mlozoa

Health Authorities in Mangochi have asked people who don’t have correct information on Covid 19 to stay quite than giving out wrong information, saying such will be more ruinous.

Dr. Charles Tembo, a senior medical officer at the district’s hospital said this when a Youth Organization in the district, Common Path (COPA) through its initiative ‘Covid-19 Pakhonde Info-Basi’, was training its volunteers who are going into communities with information about the pandemic.

Dr. Tembo said at any cost people need to have right information because that’s the only way that will bring victory in the fight against Covid-19, but when reached with different information people will get more confused and the worse scenario will be giving them wrong information.

He said health workers are always available to assist any person looking for information on the pandemic so people should always consult than spreading things that are not true.

However, he commended COPA for their initiative saying the work is quite huge so having stakeholders coming in to help spread the messages that are correct it is much appreciated.

COPA Program Coordinator for Covid-19 Pakhonde Info-Basi initiative,Luke Bula, said through the project they are going to sensitize the communities through three models that will not need more people to gather at one place and listen to them.

Bula said they have Pakhonde ‘Wayiles’ Model where they are using community radios in the district to spread the message, Pakhonde Chithunzi Model which is a door to door campaign targeting young people with disabilities and those that cannot read using pictures and signs.

According to Bula the last model the group is using is Pakhonde online where digital platforms including social media are used to make sure than every person is reached with correct information.4

One of the participants Awese Maguba, from Association of People with

Albinism in Malawi also commended the group for giving them a chance to have firsthand information on Covid-19.

Maguba said it is not always that organizers and implementers of most projects include them in their initiatives and looking at the current pandemic living them out would have been dangerous.

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