To address the Coronavirus crisis and help media and the public counter the infodemic that developed between 2020 and 2022, Fondation Hirondelle worked with 17 countries through its Covid-19 editorial hub.
Different projects aimed to provide reliable, precise and useful information about the virus and its broader impact, as well as editorial, financial and technical support to media to help them continue broadcasting quality programmes throughout the crisis. Countering mis- and disinformation about the disease—dubbed the infodemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO)—was another fundamental aspect of our work.
Fondation Hirondelle editorial teams in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar produced content for broadcast in several languages, including programmes dedicated to the most vulnerable groups, such as displaced people and women.
We supported media partners in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Myanmar, Nepal, Uganda, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan. This support included editorial advice on the best way to cover the emergency; broadcast equipment such as antennae to reach the widest possible audience; and financing for content production and broadcasts.
A Covid-19 editorial hub made up of experienced journalists and a health expert provided assistance to all these countries by checking facts, producing content and offering advice.
Through a partnership with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM), our Covid-19 editorial hub was provided with systematic mapping of (dis)information trends on Facebook in 6 African countries: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
A partnership with the social enterprise Viamo enabled us to reach and interact with audiences in an innovative way through mobile networks. In some countries, we were able to collect data on people’s concerns about and perception of Coronavirus through SMS and interactive voice response systems. This information helped us to better meet the needs of our audiences. The partnership also made it possible for us to share potentially vital information by audio message with hundreds of thousands of Viamo 3-2-1 service users, who dial a dedicated toll-free number to access relevant, reliable and useful information on demand using any type of mobile phone.
In 2023, Fondation Hirondelle carried out an experience capitalisation process for the Covid-19 editorial hub with funding from Fedevaco. Click here to learn more about the conclusions of this process.
Project term: March 2020–December 2022
Funding:
- European Union
- Switzerland
- The H2H Fund