Media professionals must continue their contribution to the fight against the spread of the coronavirus. The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije, made this injunction during a symposium initiated by the Organisation de la Presse Francophone au Rwanda (OPFR).
At a time when the number of new cases of covid-19 is dropping significantly, the Minister of Health, Dr Daniel Ngamije, reminds us that covid-19 remains present.
“The numbers are going down compared to the situation in January but the fight is not over, the situation has not yet reached the level of irreversibility,” says Dr Daniel Ngamije. “We think that we must continue to engage the population to respect the barrier measures and especially to get vaccinated as and when necessary,” he said.
The Head of the Department for Monitoring and Coordination of the Media Sector at the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), Jean Bosco Rushingabigwi, recalled that the work of journalists did not stop in the middle of the health crisis.
“During this period of covid-19, journalists took a risk, in the fight against this pandemic,” Mr. Jean Bosco Rushingabigwi testified.
Minister Ngamije showed how the involvement of journalists in the fight against covid-19 has been helpful. “Wearing masks, hand washing, social distancing, these were new behaviours. You helped us to educate the population,” he said.
“The population did not only protect themselves against covid. In the analysis of our statistics, we see that there is a decline in cases of certain diseases due to lack of hygiene. We can see that there is a change and we must continue in the same direction,” promises Minister Ngamije.
He does not hide his appreciation for the organization of the symposium for the staff of the Francophone press, whose objective is capacity building.
“Being a journalist in times of pandemic”
The symposium brought together 20 journalists from the Francophone press in Rwanda. For two days, they discussed various topics such as the response to covid-19, the state of the French-speaking press in Rwanda, how to become a good journalist in the current health context, strengthening scientific knowledge, interpreting the figures of covid-19, …
This symposium is an initiative of the OPFR with the support of the French Embassy in Rwanda.
Gérard Rugambwa
