Benin, the West African nation had set up a range of digital platforms to help combat both the spread of the disease and what the World Health Organization (WHO) has called “infodemic” of misinformation around it.
With the help of WHO, a state-appointed team of around 15 people is using WHO guidelines to disseminate information on prevention and highlight the actions being taken by health authorities to deal with the unfolding crisis.
In addition to a centralized official government platform that is freely accessible to all mobile phone users in Benin and provides frequent updates, the digital strategy team has put out several radio inserts in around 15 local languages and a range of awareness videos and press releases across different social networks. An interactive WhatsApp messaging system has also been set up and helps the new team to communicate directly with citizens both in Benin and the diaspora.
Up to 16,000 hits are being registered per day on the official pandemic website. The website also has a COVID-19 ‘flash news’ function for near instantaneous response to fake news.