Sal©: Press agencies, with their dual civic and operational role, are emerging as key actors in the health resilience of African nations, President of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA) and Director General of the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP) Fouad Arif stressed on Wednesday in Sal©.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, Arif highlighted the importance of news agencies in enhancing social cohesion and supporting government and health organizations’ efforts. Speaking at the opening of FAAPA’s 8th General Assembly, he emphasized the theme ‘African news agencies as a vehicle for promoting the continent’s health sovereignty’. He noted the critical role these agencies played during the Covid-19 pandemic, a period marked by a surge of misinformation that the World Health Organization termed an ‘infodemic’.
Arif pointed out that news agencies mobilized exemplary efforts to protect information sovereignty, emphasizing the need for these efforts to be consolidated continentally to combat pandemics and infodemics. He referred to the message from His Majesty King Mohammed VI at the First African Conference on Health Risk Reduction, advocating for pooled efforts to address threats to the continent.
Aligned with this Royal Vision, Arif expressed gratitude to partners who support FAAPA’s role as a leading African media platform. He recalled the creation of FAAPA 10 years ago as a significant step forward in African communication dynamics, highlighting coordinated efforts to center African perspectives in news coverage.
Arif also mentioned the African Academy of Health Sciences launched in Dakhla by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Science and Health. The academy aims to promote scientific research in health, tailored to African realities, and emphasize excellence in health science teaching.
The eighth General Assembly of FAAPA gathers Directors General of several African news agencies, media and health experts, and distinguished figures from various fields. The event commemorates FAAPA’s 10th anniversary, reflecting on the future of African press agencies and their role in the 21st century.