Bhubaneswar: “Make the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign against COVID more prescriptive and useful for the people already infected by the virus,” directed Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra while reviewing the IEC on COVID Appropriate Behavior (CAB) on digital mode from Lokseba Bhawan today, wherein Additional Chief Secretary of Health & Family Welfare Department Raj Kumar Sharma outlined the issues for discussion.
Reviewing the awareness building and IEC activities under implementation in the State, the Chief Secretary said, “The prescriptive and service-oriented IEC campaign against COVID is equally crucial for appropriate management of the COVID scenario”. He said that as many patients were in home isolation, they should be very clearly informed about the norms of isolation, daily care like measuring of oxygen level, which number to contact for getting doctor’s advice, what precautions to take, what to do at the time of emergency, and how to avail emergency services like ambulance, hospitalization etc. The people also should be clearly told about the care of the old, elderly, pregnant women, and persons of co-morbidity.
Further, Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra said that the IEC campaign should also contain the telephone numbers of the persons whom a patient in home isolation could contact for getting health services. The rapid response teams (RRTs) were advised to form area wise WhatsApp groups taking all positive patients so that the patients could communicate their health condition to the RRTs. The department was also advised to put district and ULB specific telemedicine numbers in the IEC campaign which the patients could use at the time of emergency. Mahapatra said, “this information will give more confidence to COVID positive tested people in home isolation, and will be more helpful for their early cure”.
The modalities for intensifying the IEC campaign through print, electronic and social media, audiovisual clips, cartoon clips for children, hoardings, writing on ‘Swasthya Kanthas’ were discussed in the meeting. It was seen that around 12 types of COVID awareness texts, 8 types of CAB messages, different AV clips on LED boards, advisories through, electronic and social media, and audiovisual jingles were being disseminated through different media. Bulk SMSs were also being sent to the people.
Principal Secretary Information and Public Relations Bishnupada Sethi said that appropriate content would be redesigned in collaboration with State Institute for Health and Family Welfare (SIH & FW) for different media and audiences. ACS Sharma asked the SIH & FW to provide the health-related technical inputs for the IEC campaign in view of the changing covid scenario, and service requirements of the people.
Principal Secretary Information and Public Relations Bishnupada Sethi, Secretary Electronic and Information Technology Manoj Kumar Mishra, Director Information and Public Relations Indramani Tripathy, Director SIH & FW Dr Amarendra Mohanty along with senior officers of concerned departments participated in the discussions.
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