UNICEF and WHO brief Mass Media on Effective Messaging for Pandemic Prevention

Ashgabat, 29 November 2021- The 5th Briefing was organized today by WHO and UNICEF for the national media and public organizations on the most effective ways to communicate pandemic prevention to the population. This activity is part of the joint UN-Government of Turkmenistan Country Preparedness and Response Plan and gathered representatives of TV, radio, print media and public organizations working at community level in Turkmenistan.

The briefing helped journalists, media professionals and representatives of public organizations to play an effective role in preventing spread of the pandemic to the population, as well as best practices on messaging and reporting based on regional and global experiences of WHO and UNICEF. 

The pandemic continues at the global level, new strains are emerging, and new waves are happening in many countries, including in the near and far abroad. The current uncertainty about the evolution of the virus and its possible impact on people emphasizes the need to be prepared, and risk communication is an important measure to prevent infection. 

“The role of mass media and public organizations at this time is to motivate the population to get vaccinated and continue prevention practices, especially during winter holidays. Keeping each other safe and healthy is the biggest priority, and we can only achieve it by working together.” said Alexandru Nartea, UNICEF Deputy Representative, opening the briefing.

 “When we talk about COVID-19, there are new variants appearing, the situation is dynamic, so we need to inform people effectively and communicate risks based on the knowledge we have that is being updated daily. It is important to vaccinate as many people as possible, but we need to focus on vaccinating people who are at risk. As always, we need to keep wearing masks, handwashing, distancing and ventilating spaces and we have to keep thinking out-of-box to promote these measures,” said Egor Zaitsev, WHO Representative.

As the vaccination rollout continues globally, including in Turkmenistan, these briefings will focus on the communication to further strengthen the capacity of local media and public organizations to inform the population about the risks by developing and disseminating necessary messages.