Implement a humane health communication strategy

Sri Lanka’s Health Communication strategies have proven to be a failure. This is evident with ‘special operations’ that are being conducted to more or less make people look like criminals for not wearing a mask.

Ever since the first COVID wave struck Sri Lankans would have heard more of ‘You will be fined for not wearing a mask’ more than ‘this is why you should be wearing a mask’. Strategies that were implemented didn’t take a humane approach in dealing with the crisis.

People were DIVIDED in the fight against COVID more than being united to fight a common enemy. Effective communication was one of the main reasons why New Zealand scored well and is a country that has successfully controlled the virus. New Zealand’s main campaign tagline was ‘United against COVID-19’ and all communication strategies fell in line with this. From billboard messages to social media posts, people were encouraged to unite and rally against the fight to control the virus.

But in Sri Lanka, ever since COVID struck, people were divided from receiving the Rs. 5,000 allowance to relief packs to the cremation and burials issue etc. Another issue is affordability. What about money allocated to the Itukama COVID relief fund? Recently it was revealed that while the fund has received a total of Rs. 1,727 million, only 6% of the funds allocated to the fund have been utilized.

Many people without masks on the road may not be able to afford one. If the fund received that much money, the government can very well provide free masks to the needy. The market was flooded with low quality masks and hand sanitizers which were raided at the onset of the pandemic. As always, those who wish to gain monetary benefits know exactly how to gain profits from the lack of supply.

If the reasons for wearing a mask, social distancing and adhering to safety guidelines were effectively communicated, people wouldn’t have faced this plight today. Besides, what’s the need to carry people that way and are they even being told where they are being taken to?

Penalizing and physically eliminating those who don’t wear masks are results of a poor health communication strategy.