As more African countries record cases of the rampaging Covid-19 disease caused by the Coronavirus, Facebook, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, and the African Union, is making efforts to keep people informed of the developments. To tackle misinformation and the spread of fake news while keeping people genuinely informed is the reason behind Facebook’s expansion of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center across more African countries.
This expansion became necessary as part of the social media giant’s Coronavirus Information Center which will see 24 more countries in Africa covered in the ongoing commitment to empowering people around the world with timely and accurate news from trusted health authorities. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center is featured at the top of News Feed and provides a central place for people to keep informed about the Coronavirus. It includes real-time updates from national official sources, regional and global organizations such as the Africa Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization as well as helpful resources – articles, videos and posts – and tips about social distancing and preventing the spread of COVID-19.
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Facebook users can opt-in to the Center to get notifications and see updates in their News Feed from official government, regional or global health authorities. Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, Africa, Kojo Boakye, says: “Facebook is supporting the public health community’s work across the world to keep all communities informed during the coronavirus pandemic. We are happy to provide nearly every country in Sub-Saharan Africa with its own Information Center so people across the continent have a central place to find authoritative information around COVID-19.”
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The new countries where Facebook is launching the Coronavirus Information Center are: Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea,Eritrea, Eswatini, Gambia,Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
The Coronavirus Information Center is already in place in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad Ethiopia,Gabon,Guinea,Kenya,Mali,Mauritania,Mauritius,Nigeria,Senegal,Seychelles,South Africa, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Togo. Facebook said that this will help in no small way to ensure government and the people are on same age of information regarding the unfolding events.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry