Journalists draft guidelines on reporting on Children during COVID-19

A consortium of journalists in Africa has formed a coalition to come up with guidelines to be followed by journalists when reporting on Children. A team being led by Mtoto News in Kenya also includes journalists from Uganda, Zambia, Namibia, Ethiopia and Somalia hoping to expand to other countries. Speaking to journalists in Uganda, the Executive Director High Sound for Children, Ms Hadijah Mwanje said there is need for the guidelines since children related matters are not taught in colleges and other higher institutions of learning. She also says as the media chases after other stories, children could be forgotten especially when it gets to what they know and the impact of COVID19 on their lives. “We have been doing this as High Sound for Children but the media is also currently working under abnormal situations. I believe so many if not all journalists have not worked under a lock-down. So everything is new and so is COVID, we need these guidelines as the media”. She also says after the guidelines are drafted, they will be popularized. “We hope to move to different media houses engaging journalists on how best they can report on children during these trying times. Areas where they need to cast a torch and how to do it. We will go media house to media house because we can’t hold meetings at the moment” She added. Meanwhile High Sound for Children has also asked government to prioritize children among other vulnerable groups who need special help during the COVID19 crisis. Uganda currently has 9 pediatric cases of COVID-19 including an eight months old baby.

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