By Tirivanhu Kateera
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa, said fake news and misinformation via social media has always been a challenge in the fight against COVID-19 as some Zimbabweans seek to create panic and confusion in the country as a way of casting Government in negative light.
In a presentation to POLAD on the Risk Communication and Information Subcommittee on Thursday, Mutsvangwa who is also the co-chairperson of the committee said slow acceptance of the need for behavioural change by citizens was part of the many challenges the committee was facing.
“We see Zimbabweans failing to properly don their masks, large gatherings at funerals, and even the emergence of shabeens,” Mutsvangwa said.
Mutsvangwa said successes were recorded along the way.
“Zimbabweans from all walks of life can attest that the message on the need for them to protect themselves and prevent the spread of COVID-19 reached them. Zimbabwe has some of the lowest infection numbers in the region and this is partly due to the COVID-19 education and information drive by the Subcommittee,” she said.
She said there is a buy-in and tremendous support from community leaders, opinion makers, influencers and other stakeholders which made it possible for key messaging on COVID-19 to be disseminated timeously and smoothly.
“We will continue to spread the message on the need to adhere to protective and preventative behaviour because we are not yet out of the woods, despite having fared better than most nations so far,” Mutsvangwa said.
Until there is an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, she said, Zimbabweans much like the rest of the world, have to live under a ‘new normal’.
“Everyone remains at risk and we all need to work together to protect ourselves and others,” Mutsvangwa said.
The Risk Communication and Information Subcommittee is co-chaired by the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and the Ministry of Health and Child Care. The Subcommittee’s subnational structures are found at provincial, District and Ward level.
