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The Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) held a virtual meeting on 13 September 2021 to validate the draft Safety Handbook with Guidelines for Journalists Covering the Covid-19 Pandemic in Kenya developed with the support of UNESCO through its EU-funded project  in Kenya. 

The validation meeting was a follow up to training workshop on that was held on 14 to 19 April 2021. It aimed at presenting the handbook to experts, composed of media professionals (editors, reporters and producers), veteran journalists, educators, policy makers, development practitioners and the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, to review and share their comments for further improvement of the handbook, before its finalization, publishing and launch later this year.

Wangethi Mwangi, veteran journalist and lead expert in the development of the booklet noted that the main aim of the booklet is to highlight the safety measures and mechanisms that journalists could observe with regard to covering the pandemic. He further outlined the main areas of focus of the guideline, which he believes will provide in-depth information to journalists, notably:

• Understanding the Novel coronavirus, its history, modes of transmission and vaccines efficacy;
• Reporting on Covid-19 and the vaccination exercises;
• Protecting yourself as a journalist in the newsroom and in the field;
• Physical well-being of journalists;
• Clinical care in case one contracts the virus;
• Psychological/ mental well-being of a journalist;
• Managing stigma;
• Digital security; and
• Role of the state and other duty bearers

Vitalis Otieno, Commissioner of Police at National Police Service in Kenya lauded efforts that had gone in preparing the safety handbook for journalists, outlining that the enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols is for the good of everyone, not just the police.

John Okande, UNESCO National Programme Officer for Communication and Information at the UNESCO regional office for Eastern Africa reiterated the importance of this reference document with good practices for journalists to learn and be aware of how to address and ensure their physical and psychological safety when covering the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. He further recalled the importance UNESCO attaches to multilingualism, and steps taken to ensure these safety guidelines are available in English and Swahili languages, for securing wider access, dissemination and outreach.  

The stakeholders gathered provided more ideas to enrich the booklet. This will now be followed up with updating of the guidelines by Kenya Editors Guild. The handbook will be officially launched on a date to be announced by the Guild in October 2021. 

Based on the central tenet that information is the opposite of disinformation, the UNESCO project #CoronavirusFacts leverages the pivotal role of freedom of expression and access to information to address information needs in times of COVID-19 and to tackle the massive wave of disinformation which threatens to impact democracy, sustainable development and stability around the world. Funded by the European Union, the project supports professional, diverse and independent media’s capacity to report on the pandemic; strengthens local fact-checking organizations to debunk misinformation; and empowers youth and other citizens to critically process what they read and hear linked to COVID-19 through training in media and information literacy.