Know COVID-19 Nigeria
Location: Nigeria
As the COVID-19 pandemic takes over the world, creating fear, anxiety, economic downturns and drastic change in our social lives, virulent an information war (lack of adequate information, Fake news and uneven distribution of news) tagged an “infodemic” spreads along with it.
To fight combat this pandemic, we started "Know COVID-19 Nigeria (visit www.knowcovid19.ng)" to fight fake news, share adequate, relevant, reliable and relatable information, and provide safety, health and precautionary tips that could help people stay safe, informed and protected while developing a database of information that could help researchers and scholars during and after this outbreak.
We currently work with a team of over 100 volunteers who are specialists (Lecturers, students, grad-students, mid-level practitioners) in different fields like epidemiology, public health, public relations, communications and medicine, monitoring, research and evaluation, graphics design and web development, among others. They have been helping us to achieve our objectives.
WhatsApp has proven to be a relevant platform for sharing information and reaching a wide range of people. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a great deal of misinformation (in the form of articles, pictures, audios and doctored videos) have been shared via the platform. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently launched its official WhatsApp chatbot to share credible information with people. Likewise, Know COVID-19 is leveraging on the platform to reach out to people and debunk all fake information passing across. This platform has helped them reach out to more vulnerable people.
When the Ebola epidemic hit Nigeria in 2014, there was serious panic and misinformation about the virus. A lot of people followed flimsy, inaccurate and unverified information about preventive or precautionary measures. At least, two people died from drinking and/ or bathing with salt water which was rumoured to be a preventive solution. Similarly, rumours about issues surrounding COVID-19 have been spreading across social media. Immediately after President Donald Trump’s reckless endorsement of Chloroquine as a cure for COVID-19, there was an upsurge in the demand for the drug Lagos State and cases of poisoning were recorded. To avert its widespread, Know COVID-19 engaged medical personnel to create awareness and myth-buster posters on various social media platforms.
Beyond tackling fake news, the organisation is gathering data on cases, perceptions, emotions and other relevant variables on the Coronavirus. Know COVID-19 shares information through relatable graphics with pictorial designs that attract attention rather than boring long texts that get people bored. This makes us unique and attracts us to people that might not read regular news reports and articles from relevant sources like the World Health Organisation and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control.
Within two weeks of our existence, we have been able to directly reach and engage over 4 million Nigerians, debunked over 40 fake news reports and posted relevant information about cases, preventive measures, myths and medical observations. We are distilling and interpreting data to curate different stories, map victims to prevent spread and sensitize people on coping strategies during the period of confinement and social distancing. More importantly, we are engaging youths while they shelter in place and developing a database of information that could help researchers and scholars during and after this outbreak.
We have been featured in several national and international news platforms and advocacy groups like Guardian Newspaper, Restless Development among others.
Support
We want to complete our website and develop our mobile application to enable us to reach a wider audience of up to twenty million Nigerians. We also want to support our volunteers with stipends to purchase internet subscription and fuel when there is power outage.
Other needs: Volunteers, Access to information, Space for online meetings
See more:
For more information contact covid19@unmgcy.org