Sadc challenges journalists to amplify appeals for food support
BATSWANA President Mokgweetsi Masisi was the guest of honour during the SADC World Press Freedom Day commemorations in Gaborone, where the regional bloc called on journalists to amplify the voices of national and regional appeals for humanitarian support in response to the El Niño-induced drought so that messages for assistance reach relevant partners.
President Masisi paid tribute to the
Media Institute of Southern Africa’s Regional and Botswana offices and UNESCO for organising the event, which is now a mainstay on the regional calendar.
He chronicled issues affecting the media in the region, particularly viability, misinformation and disinformation, stressing the need to “reflect deeply on these challenges and generate solutions to deal with them effectively”.
SADC Executive Secretary, Mr Elias Magosi, made a similar call in a speech read on his behalf by Dr Judith Kateera, the Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs at the SADC Secretariat, during World Press Freedom Day commemorations.
The event was hosted by MISA, with support from UNESCO and Olof Palme International in Gaborone, Botswana, last weekend.
The commemorations were held under the theme: “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis”.
Presenting on the topic: “Regional perspectives on access to information and freedom of expression”, Mr Magosi challenged the media to communicate the situation on the ground accurately and amplifying voices of the silent majority yearning for development.
“Looking at Southern Africa today, it is noted that our region is experiencing climate and food security crisis, as the 2023/2024 El Niño event has caused widespread drought conditions that are characterised by a late onset of rains, extended mid-season dry spells, and extreme high temperatures. This is the environment we are in right now.
“In March 2024, a month that marks the end of the last lean season, a total of about 18,6 million people were estimated to be in a food crisis or worse, due to the levels of food insecurity in the region.
“. . . this is the environment under which we now live, an environment where we need to adapt and mitigate the adverse impact of the climatic changes, if our developmental agenda is to be realised,” said Mr Magosi.