By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mohammed Yusuf
Published on 2024-01-17 20:07:47
The new report from Care International has brought to light the underreporting of African events in the media, with a shift in global attention towards conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. The research highlighted 10 African countries – including Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, and Senegal – that are currently facing crises such as climate change, conflict, poverty, hunger, violence, and political instability, yet are receiving little to no news coverage.
The report found that last year, there were over 77,000 articles published about these African countries, while the release of the iPhone 15 generated over 273,000 stories. This significant disparity in coverage highlights the lack of attention paid to African crises by the media.
Taking an unusual approach, the report aggregated online articles in multiple languages, including Arabic, English, French, German, and Spanish. It found that there were over 215,000 articles about Prince Harry’s book “Spare,” but only 11,000 about the deadly violence and displacement in Burkina Faso. Additionally, there were over 273,000 articles about the “Barbie” film, but only about 1,000 covering the flood, drought, and hunger in Angola, affecting around 7 million people.
Stefan Brand of Care Germany explained that African humanitarian crises are often underreported due to the overwhelming coverage of larger conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and those in the Middle East. He also pointed to the media’s need to cut budgets due to the lack of public interest.
According to Douglas Okwatch, the secretary of the Foreign Press Association, Africa, media budgets have been shrinking post-COVID, leading to a reduction in the number of stories produced from the continent.
The closure of foreign bureaus of international media is also blamed for the underreporting, as well as the fatigue resulting from decades of unending conflicts and humanitarian crises in some African countries.
Care International calls for the media to increase coverage of African humanitarian crises, in order for aid agencies and relevant authorities to take urgent action. They emphasize the need for access to African countries and an investment in stable media to improve coverage on the continent. With more than 300 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024, about half of them in Africa, it is crucial for the media to shine a light on these crises.
Read the original article on VOA
