“By combining these two roles, news agencies emerge as key actors in the health resilience of our nations, strengthening social cohesion and supporting the efforts of governments and health organizations”, Arif stated, speaking at the opening of FAAPA's 8th General Assembly, held under the theme “African news agencies as a vehicle for promoting the continent's health sovereignty”.

This African resilience, he said, “we all witnessed during the Covid 19 pandemic, a health crisis that was accompanied by a genuine informational crisis”.

“In fact, we all remember the relentless flow of fake news which significantly disrupted the daily lives of tens of millions of people worldwide during the pandemic,” recalled FAAPA’s President, explaining that this wave of misinformation had spread via social networks faster than the virus itself, prompting the World Health Organization to describe the phenomenon as an “infodemic”.

All news agencies present can attest to their exemplary mobilization during the health crisis, “in an effort to protect information sovereignty in our respective countries”, he added, noting that these efforts, carried out at the national level, must now be pooled and consolidated at continental level, to fight together against pandemics and infodemics that recognize neither geographical borders, nor language or cultural barriers.

This ambition had already been driven by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, in His message to the participants at the First African Conference on Health Risk Reduction, held in November 2022 in Marrakech, Arif emphasized.

In this respect, he noted, the Sovereign had stressed: “I hope Africans will pool efforts to tackle the various threats our continent is faced with. They require us to adopt proactive and preventive policies, in addition to mustering the means available to preserve the health and dignity of African citizens”.

Aligned with this Royal Vision and driven by the goal of protecting African citizens’ health and upholding their dignity, our discussions during this General Assembly will center on these priorities,” noted the FAAPA President.

He seized the opportunity to extend gratitude to all who contributed to making this meeting possible, namely the partners who demonstrated unwavering trust in FAAPA's role as a leading African media platform, noting that 10 years ago, the creation of the Federation heralded a new African dynamic in the field of communication.

There have been many examples of coordinated efforts to place African perspectives back at the heart of news coverage, particularly over the past year, he welcomed, highlighting the active participation of FAAPA member agencies in the launch, last November in Dakhla, of the African Academy of Health Sciences by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Science and Health.

Arif further pointed out that the aim of this institution is to create a platform for exchange and partnership to promote scientific research in health, in a context tailored to the realities of Africa, in addition to emphasizing excellence in health science teaching, through offering training courses adapted to the needs of the continent.

“This milestone event in Dakhla intertwined the two concepts of informational and healthcare sovereignty for Africa, much like our discussions today”, the FAAPA President said.

The continent has long faced major health challenges, particularly exacerbated during health crises, Arif recalled, pointing out that these crises, however complex and even fatal at times, have revealed immense potential: the African resilience, the emergence of local expertise and an increasing drive for health sovereignty.

“Last year, we emphasized the importance of reclaiming African sovereignty in terms of information and the reappropriation of the continental narrative. It is now clear that this necessarily involves mastering health information, through the dual civic and operational role played by news agencies”, he noted.

The eighth General Assembly of the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA) brings together the Directors General of several African news agencies alongside media and health experts, as well as distinguished figures from various fields. The focus of the event is FAAPA's 10th anniversary as a forum for reflection on the future of African press agencies and their central role in the 21st century, in their respective diverse and specific mediums.