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West Africa's Press Freedoms at Risk During Coronavirus

Stacey Knott

   ACCRA, GHANA - West Africa has seen improvements in press freedom since
   the 1990s as democracy has taken root in the region. Since the
   coronavirus pandemic began, though, press freedom groups say security
   forces have assaulted journalists covering the outbreaks in Ghana,
   Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, among other countries.

   The Media Foundation for West Africa's Muheeb Saeed said reporters have
   also had their equipment seized or destroyed.

   "The wanton attacks on journalists covering the pandemic have the
   potential to undermine the morale of the media personnel and hamper the
   media's vital contribution towards efforts to contain the spread of the
   disease," Saeed said. "There is a sense of siege among media workers,
   which does not augur well for its role as a platform for educating,
   informing and sensitizing the population about the COVID-19."

   The foundation also monitors claims made in the media about the
   pandemic and has appealed to reporters to double-check facts before
   publishing, to stop the spread of disinformation.

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