Over forty social media influencers and health workers from Niger and Lagos States have graduated from intensive training on health misinformation management organised by a leading health advocacy and communication group, Nigeria Health Watch (NHW).
It should be noted that the NHW trains fellows to advance the fight against health misinformation across the country.
The graduation ceremony which was done virtually and anchored by Sonia Biose had forty-two fellows and other stakeholders from both states and beyond in attendance.
In her remarks, the Managing Director, of NHW, Vivianne Ihekweazu said health misinformation is not relatively new, adding that the COVID-19 era exposed the dangers of health misinformation to the world.
According to her “the spread of health misinformation has undermined the efforts of government and other stakeholders in providing effective and efficient service delivery in the health sector, emphasizing the collective responsibility of all to combat health misinformation and amplify credible information.
She added that the inclusion of health workers at the community level was very effective in curbing misinformation at the grassroots where we have more vulnerable groups, and that they were proud of what the fellows have done during the period of the programme.
Accordingly, she said “We celebrate the graduation ceremony of all three tracks today. These fellows are now equipped to play a vital role in addressing health misinformation and fostering trust, both online and within their communities”.
She further disclosed that the NHW fellowship in collaboration with various partners has incorporated three interconnected tracks, which are, the health misinformation management fellowship, the health workers Misinformation fellowship and the Lagos state health educators’ fellowship.
While disclosing that the health misinformation management project is growing rapidly, the Director of Programmes, Nigeria Health Watch, Dr Kemisola Agbaoye commended all partners and facilitators from both Niger and Lagos states.
She also announced that NHW is planning for another programme named, Health Information Disorder Management Network, which is a collaborative initiative aimed at sustaining the efforts of the health misinformation management project.
In her keynote remarks, Dr Fatou Wurie noted that trust remains the most powerful tool in changing behaviours and shaping public health outcomes.
In her words: “Public health is the concern of everyone, and it is a good thing to see collaboration between media influencers and health workers in promoting public.
“No single voice can be able to combat health misinformation, but by leveraging on collaboration with other stakeholders’ misinformation can be brought to its barest level.”
