The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, or Unesco, has called for South Asian governments to “recognise” journalists as frontline workers and "prioritise their well-being”, in a press release issued on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday.

The statement paid tribute to journalists who lost their lives due to Covid and took note of other challenges faced by journalists in South Asian countries due to the pandemic. Citing data from the International Federation of Journalists and the Press Emblem Campaign, the statement said at least 300 journalists died of Covid in South Asia, and 284 media workers died in India alone.

“As access to information was disrupted following repeated lockdowns, journalists across South Asia risked their lives to ensure that credible information was made available to the public. In most cases, they contracted the infection while reporting from the ground,” the statement said.

The statement quoted director and Unesco representative to Bhutan, India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, Eric Falt as saying, “Journalists – the bearers of verified information – are at the forefront in times of crises. They are always among the first responders and their emotional and physical safety must be better ensured…From economic hardships to fake news, digital surveillance, and the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, journalists have never been more threatened as a profession.”

It also took cognisance of how several media houses had to shut operations because of the “financial crunch” they faced in the “aftermath of Covid 19 crisis” and job losses.

“More than 300 media outlets shut their operations in Afghanistan…Estimates put the number of job losses in the thousands in Pakistan and India; and in Nepal, and several media houses were forced to stop publication,” it says.

The statement said Unesco was celebrating World Press Freedom Day with “the aim to reflect on the commitment to press freedom and professional ethics among media professionals”. “It is also a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.”