19 May 2020 (TV BRICS) - The UN Information Center in Moscow and the World Health Organization Representation Office in the Russian Federation will support the work of the TV BRICS information hub to fight COVID-19 as key partners of the BRICS AGAINST COVID-19 initiative.

The new joint project will involve the UN Information Centers in Brazil, China, India and South Africa in collecting and distributing reliable information about COVID-19. The UN Department of Global Communications in New York was informed about TV BRICS initiative to organize a permanent multilateral exchange of information and updates on the COVID-19 dynamics in the BRICS countries and elsewhere in the world.

The main goal of the BRICS AGAINST COVID-19 project is to combat the "misinformation pandemic" and the wave of fake news that the global community has been lately observing. The United Nations pays particular attention to this problem. The dissemination of accurate, fact-based and timely information on the new coronavirus infection, virus control and prevention measures, as well as other vital information is a priority on the UN global information and communications agenda. Experts from the World Health Organization, who have access to up-to-date information on the global trends, will also provide their inputs to the BRICS AGAINST COVID-19 information hub.

“We believe that the TV BRICS' information hub will go a long way in reaching out to new audiences in Russia and other BRICS countries, and empowering more people with solid facts and knowledge in containing the pandemic”, Vladimir Kuznetzov, the Director of UNIC Moscow says.

TV BRICS network partners, major media outlets in Brazil, India, China and South Africa, have already joined the BRICS AGAINST COVID-19 INFOHUB initiative. Among them are the largest TV channel in Brazil TV GLOBU, one of the oldest educational channels in Brazil, TV CULTURA Padre Anchieta Foundation (Sao Paulo state), the Brazilian TV network FUNTELPA RedeCulturadeComunicação (Para state), BRICS TV Moja Media in South Africa (Capetown), Durban TV (Durban, South Africa), Chengdu Radio and Television Station (China, Chengdu), China Intercontinental Communication Center (China, Beijing), the main publishing house in the South of India Trinity Mirror (Chennai, India) and others.

Video materials from Brazil, India, China and South Africa discussing the pandemic and adapted for Russian audiences are already available on TV BRICS (Rostelecom network, button 249) and on the network's website in the BRICS AGAINST COVID-19 INFOHUB section. Users of TV BRICS website can see a video message by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which he speaks of the need to pay special attention to people with disabilities in the fight against coronavirus and its consequences, as well as other UN materials.