#ActOrPerishUg: Unified media display inspires Ugandans in fight against Covid-19

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On Friday evening, Ugandans were treated to a rare display of unity in the media fraternity as NBS TV, NTV, UBC TV, Bukedde TV and Urban TV broadcast joint bulletins on Covid-19. 

The project dubbled #ActOrPerishUG sought to take stock of the country's Coronavirus story, highlight the challenges of the country's health system in coping with the virus and point out remedies available for Ugandans to manage the Covid-19 threat. 

With over 30,000 registered Covid-19 cases and 230 deaths, experts and citizens are understandably getting anxious about the rate at which the deadly virus is spreading in Uganda. 

The days of the total lockdown when patient zero was recorded in March and subsequent months of a 100% recovery record are long gone. In the month of December, the country has twice recorded record days when over 700 people tested positive. 

Joint bulletins

Uganda's media industry is quite competitive and the broadcast channels often use every opportunity including events like elections and tragedies like Covid-19 to position themselves as the best storytellers in the business.

And yet, in the wake of the existential threat that the Coronavirus is, these fierce rivals put aside their differences and focused on delivering the same message to their combined audiences.

The message; ''We either act together NOW or perish as individuals.''



At 7pm, the television stations sent their top Luganda anchors to Mulago National Referral Hospital to anchor the special joint Covid-19 bulletins.

NTV's Frank Walusimbi, Bukedde TV's Moses Walugembe, UBC's Jethro Kasaigi and NBS' Hatmah Nalugwa Ssekaya were on the same set, to the delight of their ardent fans. 

The English audiences were also served at 9pm. Side by side, Urban TV's Lydia Lakwonyero, NBS' Samson Kasumba, UBC's Wadulo Mark Arnold and NTV's Rita Kanya challenged the viewers to reflect on the roles they can and are playing in preventing or escalating the spread of the deadly virus.

Viewers were given a breakdown of the cost of testing and treating a Coronavirus victim, a sneak peak into the isolation center at Namboole and a compilation of all the remedies available to Ugandans keen to defeat the virus. Testimonies from survivors of the virus were also shared. Canary presented a scathing report on what went wrong in the country's fight against the Coronavirus considering that Uganda was in October named by the Lancet Medical Journal as one of the top 10 best performing countries in the world in suppressing Covid-19.


Reacting to the historic bulletins, Vision Group CEO, Robert Kabushenga simply said,

''I am speechless.''

Maurice Mugisha, the news manager at the national broadcaster, UBC, tweeted at Kabushenga, saying,

''@RobertKabushenga, the country has young men and women who we should be proud of! atahe excellent team in charge of today's production.''

William Odoch, the sales and marketing manager of UBC described the team that executed the joint bulletins as 'the nation's hope and light'.

Act or Perish 

While the joint #Covid19 bulletins lasted a little less than an hour, the message delivered is one that is designed us to take us through these uncertain times.

Until a proven cure is discovered or the coronavirus is widely available, Ugandans will have to follow all the guidelines and standard operating procedures issued by the health authorities. 

And we'll have to do it together as a nation, or risk being significantly decimated by Covid-19. 

Watch the full news bulletins below: