August 27, 2020, Yangon:
A national communication campaign entitled “Lets Beat COVID Together” was launched in April 2020. It is an example of highly successful coordination between city, regional, national and international stakeholders. The campaign was supported by the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global initiative by Bloomberg Philanthropies, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies. While the Partnership ordinarily supports local-level action to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries, in late March the initiative expanded to provide technical guidance and resources to cities responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the Partnership, Yangon was therefore able to access additional support for its COVID-19 response.
Social media was positioned as an essential component of the campaign, given the high usership in Myanmar and its important role in facilitating two-way communication with residents. This kind of dialogue can help health officials better understand community attitudes towards risk perceptions, behaviours, barriers and knowledge gaps, and can also provide residents with a channel to voice their experiences, questions and concerns. A Facebook page was created and populated with content from trusted international agencies to ensure that information sources were accurate and verified, and new videos and infographics were prepared and localized for Myanmar. Some of the videos took an instructional format to promote knowledge of protective behaviours, whilst other videos included interviews with local residents. The page also hosted short videos on how the government is working to protect residents of Myanmar, as well as inspirational personal stories of how local people are overcoming the challenges of COVID-19 and helping others in the community.
“Let’s Beat COVID Together” is an excellent example of a whole-of-society pandemic response. As an experienced civil society partner, the People’s Health Foundation has supported the local and national government in their vital communication efforts. Looking ahead, clear and accurate communication around the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be a priority, and this Yangon collaboration will serve as an excellent base to support future communication campaigns for COVID-19 and other health issues. Following the launch of the national mass media campaign in April, the dedicated Facebook page has garnered over 75,000 followers, 73,000 post likes and an online reach of 2.4 million. Two radio stations have aired four PSAs on protective behaviour on high-rotation.
Social Media Performance Report(Let’s Beat Covid Together-Final
