Effective communication vital

THE media’s job during the coronavirus pandemic is maintaining balance between truth and public perception and to always remain just and objective.
This can be achieved if those in authority tasked with sharing information release them promptly so it is disseminated to the people.
When there is no information flowing, people will be susceptible to rumours and that does not help anyone.
What our people need right now is accurate, consistent and regular information.
Let us share facts and accurate information about the coronavirus.
The way we communicate can affect the attitude of others.
In an age where information is mass produced and accessible at the touch of a button, what the public really must have is relevant knowledge. While those in the mainstream media wait to work on verifying details so a fair and balanced report is presented, it is just a click of a button on social media and you have news about murder, rape, car theft and many more in the country are uploaded, even if those are just rumours.
And creating fear and stigma is not the best option to dealing with any outbreak of coronavirus.
This can result in more health problems and difficulties controlling further outbreaks.
Stigma can drive people to hide the illness to avoid discrimination; prevent people from seeking health care immediately; and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviours.
In an outbreak, people are often labelled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately, and/or experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease.
Such treatment can negatively affect those with the disease, as well as their caregivers, family, friends and communities.
People who don’t have the disease but share other characteristics with this group may also suffer from stigma.
Evidence shows that stigma and fear around communicable diseases hamper the response.
What works is building trust in reliable health services and advice, showing empathy with those affected, understanding the disease itself, and adopting effective, practical measures so people can help keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
We agree that only those authorised to release information relating to Covid-19 should do that but it is also critical and necessary that it is released promptly.
We have said this and will continue to stress on it that a lot of our people who don’t have much education are gullible to whatever information is spread and that is how panic will start.
In times of crises, accurate information is important if we are to maintain order for people to remain calm.
Everyone has the responsibility of telling the truth about public issues.
It is important for everyone to get facts from trusted sources.
There are so many unanswered questions that we, the media, our readers, listeners and viewers want answered.
One glaring detail which the public has singled out on is the Covid-19 statistics (number of cases, active cases, recovered and dead).
This puts doubt on the credibility of those releasing it and the media organisations, whose primary role is to disseminate it.
Partnership is the way forward – information is released in a timely manner (bearing in mind the different media deadlines) and then it is disseminated using the many different modes.
Remember, fake news spread like wild fire and that is why the truth must always be told, so there is no panic and anxiety.