Garowe, June 5, 2020: MAP with the generous support from its partners the International Media Support (IMS) and Fojo, distributed 116 boxes of Face-masks, 290 bottles of hand-sanitizers and 174 boxes of hand-gloves aiding 300 journalists scattered in 9 districts of Puntland regions.
Journalists in the Puntland regions working with the mainstream radio and TV stations from various media houses received personal protective equipment (PPE) and hand sanitizers from the Media Association of Puntland (MAP) in a bid to ensure that media practitioners are well protected from Covid-19.
Journalists in Somalia are playing a crucial role in keeping the public informed about the pandemic and governments’ efforts to battle the COVID19, the provision of the PPE will heavily contribute to their health safety and we are grateful to our partners who supported MAP to provide our local journalists with this crucial items’’ Said MAP chair Mohamed Dahir Warsame
The distribution comes at a time the world struggles to contain the highly infectious respiratory disease that has disrupted life worldwide. The latest update on the COVID-19 cases in Somalia, as of June 3, 2020, according to federal officials 2,146 cases among them 406 recovered and 79 deaths.
Through tête-à-tête advocacy meetings, MAP has met key governmental officials in a move to ensure that the media is given access to health facilities and get accurate data on the coronavirus in Puntland regions. The association’s chair Mohamed Dahir Warsame has urged authorities to open doors for the media practitioners to state information for the good of the public.
Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic, the free flow of news and information is more essential than ever, ensuring open dialogue and the exchange of vital information. MAP is therefore calling for local authorities to expand the access to information in-order to allow journalists better educate and inform the public on the coronavirus’’ underlined Mohamed Dahir Warsame MAP chairperson
The Media Association of Puntland (MAP) is an independent, non-profit organization registered in Puntland and recognized as a legitimate representative of Puntland’s journalists and media establishments. The organization was founded in January 2009, as freedom of expression movement, to promote and defend the right to free expression by improving the professional capacity, as well as the social and economic rights of media professionals in Puntland, Somalia.
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