Despite the timely continuous efforts made by the government, the Ministry of Health and the Institute of Public Health and religious leaders, citizens in the urban and rural areas of the country are by far less attentive to the calls on the impending disaster on the contagious COVID-19 pandemic. What are the major reasons underlying such public stance? Why are the most urgent behavioral and practical changes not in place? What is missing in our public communication models?
The following are some of the reasons I personally noticed for public dispassion on the mandatory proclamation on the State of Emergency and the corresponding regulations and how to deal with them.
The first case in point is the prevailing lack of deeper knowledge among the public on the nature of the virus and how it spreads in expeditious manner. This is in turn compounded with homemade myths or unfounded assumption that children and youth are immune from the virus and that some types spices including garlic, ginger and black seed can cure the virus.
Journalists need to stress on the dangers in quack doctoring and the negative implications of such a myth by relaying on updated data and the national guidelines on combating COVID-19 that could reverse the myth and replace it with scientific knowledge.
I think the government and the scientific communities in the universities along with media professionals need to prepare a specific national COVID-19 culturally contextualized communication strategy and model that would particularly address the youth.
The effects of the virus cannot be identified through physical examinations and people seem to believe that all is well as long as symptoms are not indicated but according to scientists symptomatic persons who are not yet ill can transmit the virus without being sick, further complicating treatment efforts by health professionals. I think that the media should stress on the illusive nature of the virus.
Lack of organized sensitization programs at homestead level has to a certain degree also contributed to public indifference to the proclamation on the State of Emergency. Agitation might work but people tend to ignore the guidelines simply because they give greater attention to their daily routines to eke life out of their daily earnings and not necessary from deliberate disobedience.
Media outlets need to roll out targeted public sensitization programs for all ages and prepare press kits that are simple in various languages spoken in the country. This makes the dissemination of correct information closer to home and acceptable with fewer reservations.
Very soon testing capacity of the country will increase triggering the necessity of contacts tracing down on possibility of further infection due to links with those infected with the virus. This should be supported with a technology that could ease tracing by charting out travel itineraries of those who tested positive and their social contacts upon arrival.
Due to several understandable reasons, Ethiopian media outlets have so far done little on organizing educational interviews with those who have recovered from COVID-19 but this very important for public sensitization.
The Ministry of Health has announced that research is underway to find a possible vaccine through time. Although this might take a longer period of time, the public needs to be informed on the progress of such results. Despite the clear message on the research on herbal medicines, there is still a certain level of disinformation that seems to state that the government has claimed of finding a vaccine for the virus.
COVID-19 is a pandemic that leaves no part of public life untouched. Public communication on the virus cannot bring about the desired change of behavior unless it is combined with public health education programs on communicable diseases like respiratory tract infections and non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and cardiac diseases.
Public and commercial media centers should explain to the public the multiple preventive advantages of social distancing in the prevention of flue, common cold and all types of hepatitis and the prevention of bacteria induced diseases like dysentery.
COVID-19 has a very good transmission belt with those eat raw fish and other uncooked animal products and the sensitization sessions that are in full swing at health centers may continue on daily basis. This would mean deeper but simple communication materials including stickers and one page pamphlets.
On the other hand, the media has so far kept quite from reporting on the viability of public servants who are designated for working from home. The audience would like to know how these workers are operating from home and their outputs.
So far, we have seen flash news on new innovations by our youth in developing simple and manageable technologies that would help in enhancing the battle against the virus. It is also very important to provide information on how our industries are contributing to the national effort in the struggle against the pandemic.
The road is definitely torturous but we need to vigorously hit it.
The Ethiopian Herald April 23/2020
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
