Since the beginning of the year, h2n has been working with community radio stations across the country to address Covid-19 issues from new angles in order to assist the stations to provide high-quality information and address the concerns of their listeners. A major push in this effort has been a series of trainings aimed at overcoming myths and misperceptions related to the pandemic.
“We have seen a wide range of responses to the pandemic,” says Rui Lamarques, the main facilitator of the trainings. “Some people ignore the risks altogether, mostly believing that the pandemic is not real, while others are almost perishing of fear.” Common to this wide range of reaction patterns is the need for people to process a lot of information, including social media posts about magical cures and stories that are not anchored in reality. “Our goal is to improve the quality and reliability of information, so that people can take appropriate measures,” says Lamarques. In recent weeks,
h2n’s southern team has been working with community radio stations in Maputo and Gaza provinces, mentoring radio reporters on how to produce impactful stories that help their listeners navigate the information landscape, mostly by framing issues within day-to-day contexts and examples. “Producing relevant and impactful stories improves our ability to inform the community,” says Nelson Chunguane, coordinator at Gwevhane community radio in Xinavane.
The Covid-19 activities are within the scope of the CRP2 project funded by the Norwegian Embassy. h2n works with community-based communication, produces television programs and videos, organizes youth centers and pursues a comprehensive gender equality agenda.