COTABATO CITY, Jan. 29 (PIA)--The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government, in partnership with the United Kingdom (UK) Government, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently hold an online activity dubbed as, “Bangsamoro Online Kapihan: Accountable child-based reporting on the new normal."
The online forum, which focused on the topic on the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on health and nutrition service delivery, is a four-part webinar series on child-based reporting in the BARMM that started November last year.
It aims to increase the awareness of journalists and information officers in the region on children’s rights and issues and child-based reporting and to generate more child-centered narratives and stories from the field.
In her opening message, UNICEF Health and Nutrition Specialist Dr. Madonna Anabieza underscored the vital role of media and information sector in information dissemination.
“The media and information sector play an extremely powerful and challenging role in disseminating critical information especially to the disadvantaged and vulnerable populations of the society. During this pandemic that we are experiencing today, this role couldn’t be more important,” she said.
For his part, Deputy Head of Mission of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development of the United Kingdom Alastair Totty reaffirmed the UK government’s commitment to support its media partners in combating misinformation by providing an outlet for voices of the children.
During the activity, representatives from the BARMM’s Ministry of Health (MOH) discussed topics such as children and vaccines, nutrition, water, wanitation, and hygiene (WASH) during pandemic including the impact of COVID-19 to health and nutrition system in BARMM.
Participants were also informed about the rise of fake news and how misinformation is undermining the health and nutrition delivery system.
In his message, Bangsamoro Information Office Executive Director Ameen Andrew Alonto highlighted the key roles of media and information officers in disseminating critical health-related information.
“Through media, large number of population are educated on the latest reports on the health statistics of our country,” he noted. Alonto encouraged those in the information sector to help in this endeavor by developing factual and child-friendly stories. (LTBolongon-PIA Cotabato City)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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