Facebook is
expanding its Coronavirus Information Center to 24 more countries in Africa as
part of its ongoing commitment to empowering people around the world with
timely and accurate news from trusted health authorities.
The COVID-19
Information Center is featured at the top of News Feed and provides a central
place for people to keep informed about the Coronavirus.
It includes
real-time updates from national official sources, regional and global
organizations such as the Africa Center for Disease Control and the World
Health Organization.
The information
also features helpful resources – articles, videos and posts – and tips about
social distancing and preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Facebook
users can opt-in to the Center to get notifications and see updates in their
News Feed from official government, regional or global health authorities.
Facebook’s
Director of Public Policy, Africa, Kojo Boakye said, “Facebook is supporting
the public health community’s work across the world to keep all communities
informed during the coronavirus pandemic. We are happy to provide nearly every
country in Sub-Saharan Africa with its own Information Center so people across
the continent have a central place to find authoritative information around
COVID-19.”
The new
countries where Facebook is launching the Coronavirus Information Center are,
Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial
Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique,
Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The
Coronavirus Information Center is already in place in the countries of Benin, Burkina
Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya,
Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, The
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Togo.
Distributed
by APO Group