Press Centre 2006/02/02 (1): Health
Communicating about bird flu in Turkey
Bernard Kennedy
Making a point about bird flu. Photograph by Oğuz Sağdıç © UNICEF Turkey 2006
Şanlıurfa/Ankara, 2 February, 2005
It’s a disease which comes from chickens.
A dozen women and girls, mostly in their teens, occupy a circle of plastic chairs in the sparse but functional classroom of the Multi-Purpose Social Centre in the Yakubiye neighborhood of Şanlıurfa in Southeast Turkey.
The Centre is one of about 40 which exist in the region under the umbrella of the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP), the government’s long-running scheme for the economic and social development of the Euphrates and Tigris basins. Staffed mostly by volunteers, the centres provide local girls, customarily out of school, with an opportunity to learn and a focus for solidarity. They offer courses in literacy, health, home economics, arts and crafts and organise picnics and trips to the cinema. But today, the topic of conversation is the bird flu virus which has been sweeping Turkey in recent weeks, and which caused the death of four children last month.
Sumru Kutlu, a senior programme assistant from the UNICEF office, is trying to find out how much these women know about how to protect themselves and their families:
It’s a disease which comes from chickens.
… and other birds.
A lot of people have got ill and some of them have died.
It’s catching.
It passes from chicken to chicken and people to people.
It’s mainly in the villages where they keep chicken at home.
Most of the women and girls wear colourful headscarves over their jackets, sweaters or blouses. They have learned a lot about bird flu
from television and neighbourhood conversation. But they are divided as to what precautions they should take. Some believe that they should not eat chicken or eggs at all. It is no surprise, therefore, that throughout Turkey, large-scale poultry farmers have reported a dramatic fall in demand.
The midwife who visited us told us not to eat chicken but we have eaten it and nothing has happened,
says one young woman. Last night the Prime Minister ate chicken on TV, so now we know that we can eat it,
responds another. Nobody knows that you can eat chicken if you cook it thoroughly at a high heat. Nobody mentions the urgency of seeking medical treatment if they develop severe flu symptoms and have recently had contact with sick or dead birds. Nor are they aware of the importance of reporting sick or dead birds or even the need to wash one’s hands thoroughly and frequently with soap.
Passing on the message
Smiles of understanding. Photograph by Oğuz Sağdıç © UNICEF Turkey 2006
Have any of you seen this?
asks Kutlu, holding up a leaflet about bird flu from the provincial directorate of health. Some 150,000 copies of the leaflet were distributed, especially at mosques, during the recent religious holiday. Only Zeynep (17) has seen it.
If they hand it out at mosques, the fathers might not tell their wives and daughters,
comments Nafile (18).
They should talk about it in schools,
suggests another Zeynep (15).
Kutlu proceeds to test some communication materials developed by UNICEF. She explains the symptoms of bird flu and the precautions to be taken. She then asks the girls what they think would be the best way of reaching others -- including girls who stay at home all day or who live in rural areas. Some girls and women in Şanlıurfa are illiterate or may have difficulty in understanding Turkish.
I think if I tell my friends about it and they tell somebody else, then everybody will learn,
argues Fatma (12).
Our neighbours have a coop full of chickens and they are still wandering about the neighbourhood, and the kids are playing with the chicks,
says Hanım (12). We told them about it but they didn’t believe us. They said it was none of our business.
Life-saving behaviour
Promoting life-saving behaviour is more difficult than it sounds. Media coverage of issues like bird flu can be unhelpful, and public information campaigns do not always have the intended effect. Trying to give too many messages, for example, can be confusing. It is important that all those in authority speak with one voice. At the same time, however, different styles and channels of communication may be needed to reach people in different places or from different social and cultural backgrounds.
The girls and women say that they want to hear their information from trusted sources such as doctors. Views such as these are valuable for UNICEF which, under the ægis of the Government’s Child Intersectoral Board and alongside those ministries on the Board, has brought together other relevant government ministries, the national broadcaster, UN organisations, the Turkish Red Crescent and partner NGOs to help develop an integrated communication strategy for avian influenza prevention and containment. Existing networks such as the girls’ education volunteer network will help to put the strategy into practice. Also under development, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education (MONE), is a teacher-training package which includes games to promote good hygiene.
For more information
Angela Hawke, UNICEF CEE/CIS, Tel: +41 (0)22 909 5433
Sema Hosta, Communications Officer, UNICEF Turkey, Tel: +90 (0)312 454 1010
Canan Sargın, Health Programme Officer, UNICEF Turkey, Tel: +90 (0)312 454 1006
Find out more about avian influenza or bird flu
from the WHO international web site.
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OTHER PRESS RELEASES ON HEALTH ISSUES
- Selami developed a slight cough and a temperature on January 6 this year while staying with his grandfather’s family in a village some 80 kilometres east of the city.
- The total number of human cases confirmed to have been infected by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza or ‘bird flu’ in Turkey remains unchanged at 21. Four people have died from infection to date -- all of them children.
- An amendment jointly introduced to the Salt Communiqué by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture has banned direct marketing of non-iodised table salt to consumers.
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