by Judithpride Nkwanda

The Ministry of Public Health, MINSANTE under the programme One Health, has encouraged media personnels to be fully involved in risky communication on zoonotic and infectious diseases around human environment.

This was during a four-day training from the 13th to the 16th September, 2022 at the Bengo hotel In the South Region of Cameroon.

During the workshop, participants learnt on the risks of transmission, strategies and how to combat this phenomenon.

According to Dr. Cha-ah Crystella, monitoring and evaluation specialist at the Zoonoses programme, “risk communication is very low and so,it’s important to bring together bloggers to promote one health approach”.

For media workers to help this committee fight against emerging and re-emerging diseases, Djeny Ngando Damaris of the Ministry of Communication stated some key principles to be followed while communicating.

“A Journalist should be transparent, coherent, frequent, credible, authentic and precised in his report”

She also advised writers to let their writing styles make their stories pertinent. Djeny Ngando Damaris furthered that journalists need to collaborate with public health spokespersons to get credible information for the public needs to minimize physical and mental health.

Dania Ebongue president of the association of Cameroon bloggers told the Bloggers to overcome challenges and go to the field, get information and communicate effectively.

Dania Ebongue, President ABC

“When you are a blogger, you need to also be a health personnel to ensure that the One Health programme is effective. We are all partners of One Health”. Dania remarked.

He told the Bloggers to always do their fact-checking, avoid rumors and be up-to-date.

One of the facilitators Dr. Jean Marc Feussom,a vertinary doctor made a call to remind health personnels that to promote Zoonoses programme, One World One Health is possible “when the medical doctor cures man and the vertinary doctor cures humanity”.

Judithpride Nkwanda, Insight244 correspondent receiving certificate from ABC president.

The programme is out to promote One Health in Cameroon under WHO, piloted by MINIPIA, put in place by the Secretary General at the Prime Ministers office and sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, FAO.

Zoonoses programme is celebrated in Cameroon on the 3rd of November.