A Cacophony of uncoordinated COVID 19 messaging

By Oliver Kanene 

The widespread public non-adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, which the Cabinet, in particular Dr. Chitalu Chilufya (Minister of Health)  and Hon. Dora Siliya (Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services), have cried out about are a result of an hysterical communication approach at the beginning of the pandemic which only resulted in a cacophony of  uncoordinated mass messages delivered by messengers whose credibility was doubted by citizens.

Loud hailing, ferreting people out of pubs, pursuing buses to catch non-masked passengers, waylaying motorists at roadblocks to charge non-masked drivers and a dearth of stereotyping, myths, pervasive misinformation and failure to strategically engage a willing private and community media, have added to the current laxity among citizens to adhere to recommended public health measures of wearing masks, hand hygiene and social distancing.  They have contributed to infodemics- an excessive amount of information about the pandemic that makes it difficult to identify a solution or build trust in the response to increase the probability that health advice will be followed.  

 Dr. Chilufya and Hon Siliya’s unfortunate contraction of the virus at the height of their communication campaign, and the former’s corruption allegations at a time when COVID-19 resources accountability fears have been raised, have not helped the situation.  If handled appropriately, the illness of the two ministers could have been used positively to exhibit the reality of COVID-19 and to challenge some myths among citizens.

Dr. Chilufya’s recent  caution that the country may record up to 20,000 health facility admissions and close to I,000 COVID-19 deaths per day if people continued flouting the health regulations is a clear adminission that the nation has this far not done well with its Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) strategy implementation. This has resulted in a sudden spike in new cases and deaths reported during the COVID-19 media briefings. What is most frightening is the increasing Brought in Dead numbers, which point to the virus breaching the boundary into densely populated communities where non-adherence levels are reportedly higher. 

In responding to Dr. Chilufya’s timely warning, there is need to get the social and behaviour change science right. Effective messages cannot be designed until there is evidence as to why citizens are not adhering to the health measures.  Consideration should be taken so that the estimated 7.6 million people in 43 districts that are at risk of COVID-19 due to presence of main border crossing, location on major highways or transport corridors, population density, industrial activities and populations with pre-existing health conditions, and the 88,064-refugee population are reached with appropriate messages. 

The United Nations in Zambia has reported that over 4,505,347 people have been reached with COVID-19 messaging on prevention and access to services; and more than 400,000 at-risk people sensitized in door-to-door campaigns in Lusaka.  The achievement, however, is not reflected in the levels of adherence as the UN further reports, in its COVID-19 Emergency Appeal Zambia (May – October 2020),  that partners are concerned that there is a noted relaxation of people’s adherence to proven recommended public health measures.  The Zambian Cabinet has added its voice to this situation.

Following message design, the right messengers and channels for delivery at different social/community levels and platforms should be identified.  In the current politically highly charged and tense atmosphere attention should be paid not to relinquish this task to partisan inclined individuals whether in Government or outside.  Instead the huge cadre of community workers and communication specialists that the Government and its partners have trained and mentored over the years in fields including HIV and AIDS, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Maternal and Child Health, Social Welfare, Community Development, Agriculture and others,  should be engaged more aggressively.  These foot soldiers are trusted in the communities in which they work and can enhance the national RCCE effort.

Now that local transmissions are increasing at an alarming rate at community level, there is need for more robust media engagement. Media should be empowered through grants not only to repeat the Minister and other leaders’ statements but to investigate and report on replicatable best practices. Media needs to be provided with clear messages and constant communication with science through weekly cafes. Journalists need interpreted statistics and not only numbers.  Journalists themsleves should apply themselves fully to a coverage of meaning and contect instead of simple events.

Government’s aspiration and efforts to scale down the numbers of new infections and deaths should include a scaled up and more robust communication strategy to more effectively communicate with the public and engage with communities. The energies, resources and experience of the Minister (herself a Communication Specialist) and Permanent Secretary (a senior Media Practitioner) at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services should provide the required foundation for the new strategy.

The short of it is that Zambia cannot afford or contain a mature COVID-19 pandemic which health specialists are warning the nation.

Oliver Kanene, National Facilitator, Swedish International Development (SIDA) International Training Programme (ITP) on Media Development and Self-Regulation and former Executive Director, Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM)