Morogoro — Tanzania has marked a significant milestone in its public health preparedness journey by validating its first-ever Infodemic Management Strategy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The two-day workshop, held in Morogoro, brought together government officials, health communication experts, and development partners to critically review and endorse a framework designed to counter misinformation during health emergencies.

Organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other key partners, with financial support from the UK Government, the workshop ensured that the strategy and SOPs are contextually relevant, practically applicable, and aligned with international standards for managing health misinformation. The event served as a platform for stakeholders from various sectors to collectively assess the tools and customize them to meet Tanzania’s specific needs.

Speaking at the workshop, Dr. Ona Machangu, Assistant Director of Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health, emphasized the urgency of addressing misinformation, noting that it often spreads faster than the health threats themselves. He highlighted the need for systems that enable the timely identification and management of false information as a critical part of emergency response.

Adding to this, Mr. Oscar Kapera, the Risk Communication and Community Engagement national coordinator at the Ministry of Health , underscored the high stakes involved, especially in fast-moving emergencies. “We have learned from recent outbreaks that misinformation can be just as dangerous as the disease itself,” he said. “This strategy gives us a national compass to detect and respond to false information before it causes harm. It is a tool for building trust, saving lives, and ensuring that our response efforts are not derailed by confusion or fear.”

The strategy outlines a proactive approach focused on listening to community concerns, promoting accurate understanding of health risks, building public resilience to false narratives, and empowering communities to take informed actions. The SOPs complement this by offering step-by-step guidance for applying these interventions at national and sub-national levels before, during, and after public health crises.

Throughout the workshop, participants drew on real-world examples from Tanzania’s recent responses to COVID-19, Marburg virus disease, and cholera outbreaks. Using these scenarios, they examined the effectiveness of the strategy and SOPs and discussed ways to adapt them to local realities. Participants emphasized the importance of timely, trusted communication and the integration of tools to track misinformation trends in real time, particularly on social media. They also stressed the value of tailoring health messages to reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of Tanzanian communities, as well as strengthening community feedback mechanisms such as hotlines and frontline health workers.

Stakeholders further underscored the need for monitoring and evaluation indicators to assess the strategy’s implementation and overall impact. Capacity building emerged as a key priority, with calls for training and support to ensure that health communicators at all levels are equipped to apply the strategy effectively.

Dr Faraja Msemwa, the Emergency Preparedness and Response cluster lead from the WHO, echoed the importance of having tools that guide how infodemics are effectively managed through structured actions to build community resilience to mis-/disinformation. “ Infodemic management requires the same rigor and coordination as disease outbreak response. It demands protocols, trained teams, structured actions, and continuous monitoring. This strategy and its SOPs will stand as a practical compass to building a resilient communication ecosystem beyond public health emergencies” 

The validated documents will now move through final approval by the Ministry of Health. A national rollout plan has been prepared, which includes training sessions, simulation exercises, and the dissemination of materials to all key stakeholders involved in emergency response. This initiative forms part of Tanzania’s broader effort to strengthen risk communication and community engagement as a core pillar of the national Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.