Community Urged To love, Care And Comfort The Murburg Victims In Avoiding Stigma And Discrimination
Journalists in Kagera Region, Northwest of Tanzania have been asked to write professionally about the Marburg epidemic, although it has been officially announced by the authorities that the disease is over, but people have to continue taking precautions as well as loving,caring and comforting the victims.
The call was made by Rev. Dr Godfrey Aligawesa, C.E.O of Radio Karagwe, a Community radio in Karagwe district Kagera region, on his opening speech of a one day seminar on Fighting stigma and discrimination against Marburg victims.
Tanzania Ministry of Health, Ummy Mwalimu, on June 2, 2023, officially declared the region was free from Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), 86 days since the outbreak and 42 days since the last patient was confirmed free of the virus as per WHO guidelines.
However, the minister warned the resident not to sit idle and relax that the epidemic is over, but to keep prepared if another epidemic arises in the future.
It is from this perspective that Radio Karagwe 91.4 FM under Karagwe Media Association (KAMEA) brought together its reporters and others from national and international media, to mobilise the community to continue taking precautions and fight stigma and discrimination against Marburg victims.
According to Rev. Dr Aligawesa, UNICEF released funds to Tanzania Development Information Organisation (TADIO), a network of 34 radio stations in the country for awareness education during the outbreak, and after for preparedness.
Dr Agnes Mwaifuge, Karagwe District Medical Officer (DMO), who was a training facilitator, said the journalists in Kagera region have done a tremendous job to keep the public informed about Marburg outbreak in the region, without causing shock and panic and make people stay at ease.
“Contrary to that, people would have lost hope, stop working, psychologically unrest. Then we could have been at standstill!”, she said urging the journalist to continue doing good job, this time emphasizing on telling the community to love and appreciate the survivors so that they give them hope and heath,” said the DMO.
She further said to stigmatize and discriminate the victims and their families may lead to the spread of diseases, when one loses hope, knowingly or unknowingly, to preserve the medical instructions, and also others will not be ready to report their states of health.
“Your responsibility is now to make sure they live a happy life, go and visit them in person, talk to them to know how they go about and their challenges. If you do so, it will make others do the same.”
Closing the Training, Livingstone Byekwaso, member and leader in KAMEA, said he was optimistic journalists will implement what they had learnt, quoting one of Rev. Desmond Tutu speeches in 2000, that, “Goodness, laugher, joy, caring, compassion, the things that you do and you help others do, those are going to prevail”.
A total of eight confirmed and one probable case, and six deaths, including a health work, were recorded in the outbreak.
By Mutayoba Arbogast
