By Foday Moriba Conteh
The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has on the 3rd February, 2020 instituted a Corona Response Committee as a preparedness mechanism against the backdrop of the continuous spread of the Corona Virus (COVID 19) across the world, The establishment of the Corona Response Committee (SLAJ-CRC), according to the organization’s Press Release, is to support national efforts at addressing the outbrSierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).
However, it was iterated that the main objective of the SLAJ-CRC is to “coordinate SLAJ’s response to the fight against Corona Virus in Sierra Leone”. In the wake of its establishment, the Committee has started interfacing with the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, as well as all relevant authorities and stakeholders, to support information dissemination, education, sensitization and awareness raising activities.
The SLAJ-CRC is headed by Mr. Ransford Wright, Co-ordinator of the Independent Radio Network (IRN) and Chief Executive Officer of Believers Broadcasting Network (BBN). He is supported by 12 other members, including three (3) regional focal contact persons.
“At the stage we are in now as a country, information, education and communication is key and the media’s role is crucial in this,” said SLAJ President, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla. “As journalists our responsibility is to provide the public with accurate and factual information about the disease and on efforts at addressing it,” he stated adding that he is enjoining all journalists to resist becoming vehicles for the spread of misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories about the Corona Virus. SLAJ has expressed gratitude to the members of SLAJ-CRC for accepting the responsibility to serve.
