Nigerian Authorities, Nonprofits Tackle Misinformation to Boost Vaccine Uptake
Voice of America
ABUJA, NIGERIA - Music and jingles fill the air in a camp for displaced people in the capital, Abuja. The songs are addressing one problem — misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine.
Helen Nwoko and her team at Aish Initiative said they're on a mission in the camp to address many who have been misled by a viral social media video that portrayed vaccines as a microchip with magnetic qualities. She said various myths and misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines are negatively affecting uptake. "From the records we get on the people who have been vaccinated in Nigeria, the percent is too low, compared to what we're supposed to get," Nwoko said. "Then we said, 'Let's start from [these] vulnerable groups. These are people who are in an enclosed place.'"This handout photo released on June 2, 2024 shows South Korean military officers check unidentified objects believed to be North Korean trash from balloons that crossed the inter-Korea border, on a street in Seoul. In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024.
A man takes a photograph of the election results at the National Results Operation Centre of the IEC in Midrand, South Africa, June 2, 2024. African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, briefs the media on results of the elections at the Results Operation Centre in Midland, Johannesburg, June 2, 2024.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hand with Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, left, and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024.
Supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) hold cutouts of India's Prime Minister and their leader, Narendra Modi, as they shout slogans during an election campaign rally in Amritsar on May 30, 2024. A man watching television waits for the release of exit polls published after voting concludes during its seventh and final phase amid India's general election, at an appliance store in Ajmer on June 1, 2024.
FILE - In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024. This photo provided by Incheon Fire Headquarters shows balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, June 2, 2024.