Five days ago (on 14 April 2020), the World Health Organisation released a new, comprehensive document titled COVID-19: Strategy Update“to help guide the public health response to COVID-19 at national and subnational levels”. The document was based on “…the evidence the world has accumulated in the past three months about how COVID-19 spreads, the severity of the disease, howto treat it, and how to stop it.” One of the six mandatory conditions, the WHO identified, if any government wants to start lifting restrictions, is that “Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to live under a new normal”.
I have been away from Nagaland (my birthplace and residence) for education and work all my adult life. When news came of the COVID-19 precautionary lockdown in Nagaland, I learnedthere was no reliable single source of information available. More worryingly, any information I could find on the Nagaland government website/s was in the English language only. This led me to petition to the Government of Nagaland (GON) on April 5, 2020 that “mass communication is a critical weapon against COVID-19”. To be clear, I speak mainly for my constituency of the voiceless common people in the far-flung remote areas of Nagaland, and for those people who are not English-literate, or cannot read.
My petition letter provided two major suggestions:
1. Produce a scripted audio communication translated into all major and minor languages and dialects in the State. The translated script would include all of the vital and approved information for the general public on how to protect themselves, and those around them, from catching and spreading COVID-19. That the GON recruit volunteers (from each language/dialect group) through an Official Call for volunteers that have demonstrable proficiency in English, for translation to local languages.
2. Launch a new official website dedicated to COVID-19; also highlighting that “…State government mandated websites (Department of Health and Family Welfare, DHFW;and Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority, NSDMA) are far too cluttered with non-essential information for the general public to navigate efficiently.
The GON has just launched https://covid19.nagaland.gov.in/, but it is currently a dashboard for basic COVID-19 statistics. There is an appreciable amount of vital information for public awareness about COVID-19, but effective communication from the GON still seems to be lacking thus far. I wish to highlight the following major issues that I think can be addressed through improving and expanding the GON COVID-19 dedicated website:
Issue 1: Which department? COVID-19 is a health issue which is why at the national level all official communications and guidelines including Awareness Materials related to COVID-19 are made available on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/). Quite logically, one would think that at the State level, the mandated department for all Covid-19 awareness materials will be the DHFW (https://nagahealth.nagaland.gov.in/) under the concerned central government ministry, the MoHFW. When I was searching for Nagaland information, the last place I thought to look for “health” information was on Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority which primarily provides the GON COVID-19 related information (https://nsdma.nagaland.gov.in/covid19), whereas the DHFW website appears to only havea link to social media (Facebook and Instagram:https://nagahealth.nagaland.gov.in/) for the awareness materials, and does not clearly direct the citizens to the NSDMA website.
Suggestion: As a HEALTH issue, generally a person wanting to find any information on COVID-19 will go to the websiteof Nagaland’s DHFW. The GON must clearly inform the public which department is in charge of all public awareness on COVID-19. Other departments that might be searched should not have any additional information, but should only provide a link to a single platform (COVID-19 website).
Issue 2. Duplication of Effort: Several GON-sponsored COVID-19 awareness materials (texts, graphics, audios, videos) are available. The All India Radio, Kohima (Air Kohima”) has made audios in multiple languages on several topics (health advisory for elderly, dos & don’ts to prevent coronavirus, social distancing etc.). The North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA) in partnership with DHFW, and several other institutions have made awareness videos (how coronavirus spreads, hand washingguidelines, etc.). I can only assume that the Health Communications Department of the DHFW will have made or are making several such awareness materials.
Suggestion: Collaboration between all key departments and institutions will avoid duplication of effort and do justice to all of the awareness materials that are being produced, if the GON officially directs the public through the single platform (COVID-19 website). Nagaland should be proud of the commendable efforts that have been made by the Government, independent parties, and individuals in spreading awareness about COVID-19, but the most efficient way for mass educationwould be to present these materials on the single dedicated COVID-19 website.
(To be concluded)
Dr. Rachunliu G Kamei