"This guide should help practitioners to: develop an evidence-grounded understanding of misinformation in the context of vaccination, how it spreads and gets traction, what can be done to mitigate its impact; implement evidence-based approaches to address misinformation; develop a comprehensive and
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tailored national strategy for misinformation management [with case studies on polio vaccination in Pakistan, dengue in the Philippines and HPV in Malawi]. The guide should support practitioners working in immunization programs, including immunization managers, C4D communication for development specialists, behaviour and social change specialists, external and digital communications and health teams." (Page 6)
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"There is no “one size fits all” approach to digital contact tracing technologies (DCTT). Technology design should not be static, but it should be capable of evolving depending upon local conditions, new evidence, and changing preferences and priorities. Technology companies alone should not con
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trol the terms, conditions, or capabilities of DCTT, nor should they presume to know what is acceptable to members of the public. DCTT should be designed to have a base set of features that protect privacy, with layers of additional capabilities that users may choose to activate. An initial default should be that user location data are not shared, but users should be provided with easy mechanisms and prompts to allow for opting-in to this capability, with encouragement to the public if it is shown to be critical to achieving public health goals. Data collected through DCTT should be made available to public health professionals and to researchers in de-identified form to support population-level epidemiologic analyses." (Summary, page 2)
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"Women, the elderly, adolescents, youth, and children, persons with disabilities, indigenous populations, refugees, migrants, and minorities experience the highest degree of socio-economic marginalization. Marginalized people become even more vulnerable in emergencies. This is due to factors such as
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their lack of access to effective surveillance and early-warning systems, and health services. The COVID-19 outbreak is predicted to have significant impacts on various sectors. The populations most at risk are those that: depend heavily on the informal economy; occupy areas prone to shocks; have inadequate access to social services or political influence; have limited capacities and opportunities to cope and adapt and; limited or no access to technologies. By understanding these issues, we can support the capacity of vulnerable populations in emergencies. We can give them priority assistance, and engage them in decision-making processes for response, recovery, preparedness, and risk reduction." (Page 2)
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"This document offers a practical guide on how to design behaviorally-informed communications and interventions that help contain the spread of Covid-19. How and with what resources should you communicate to overcome the deep behavioral biases that we all have and that are heightened in situations o
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f stress, fatigue, and uncertainty? How do you encourage people to heed health recommendations upon returning to their workplaces or schools? This guide helps answer these questions and offers clues and concrete examples of how communications can promote behavior change." (Abstract)
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"The audience has clear requests concerning the presentation of information and the range of themes. In our opinion the following observations are most important: There is a need to separate useful information in the media from “information noise”, as the latter can raise anxiety. Trust is felt
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towards material based on principles of neutrality, and focussed on the stories of real people. There is a need for balance in stories about interaction between the government and volunteers or civil society." (Recommendations, page 4)
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"This document is written for humanitarian or public health organizations as well as national governments seeking to document rumors in a systematic and dynamic fashion. First, the document provides an overview of the role of rumors in a public health or humanitarian emergency, followed by a summary
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of the community-based approach taken by Breakthrough ACTION during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the guide lays out an application of this approach using the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) open source software platform, including an overview of a pre-configured metadata package that can be installed on a new DHIS2 system or imported to an existing system. While this guide and the associated DHIS2 package were developed for COVID-19, rumors play a role in a variety of public health issues. Real-time monitoring of rumors thus provides a unique opportunity for dynamic two-way communication with communities." (Overview, page 4)
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"The purpose of this guide is to highlight research, theories, models, and research-driven recommendations that will help ensure effective communication strategies for organizations worldwide. The Institute for Public Relations has reviewed more than 100 research articles to assemble this guide. Bel
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ow are 17 Key Findings, which are all backed by research discussed in more detail within the guide." (Executive summary and key findings, page 1)
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"Three communication considerations: 1. What - Define communication goals; 2. Who: Identify needs and persepctives of intended audience; 3. How: Create and disseminate tailored messages." (Page 1)
"Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) launched the Digital Emergency Relief Programme through its Community Information Resource Centers (CIRC) across 600+ locations in India who have been rigorously responding to the crisis by reaching out to the most vulnerable communities. The CIRC centres with t
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he help of the 5,000+ digital foot soldiers, after mapping the needs of the communities in rural regions, identified that the immediate need was for information dissemination and creating awareness. Awareness regarding the information on coronavirus, its symptoms, preventive measures needed and countering fake news and misinformation was done using various means like WhatsApp groups, leaflets and word-of-mouth. Further, awareness around the relief package announced by the government- Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojanawas raised through Digital Mobile Van, public address system and WhatsApp groups. This proved to be one of the most effective ways of disseminating information and ensuring social distancing. Simultaneously, DEF’s digital foot soldiers created a relief kit which included dry ration to help families sustain for at least a month, masks and DEF Covid-19 information guide. These were done by local fund raising and administration support. Several surveys and publications were also published along with visual documentation of the issues faced, several initiatives carried out and expert opinions on the same. The report seeks to document the numerous kinds of initiatives that were undertaken by DEF." (Introduction)
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"This is a short technical brief with important steps and resources on how country programs can track and address rumors around COVID-19 (as needed). The guide includes a number of great resources and links while also sharing nuggets from global, collective thinking around rumors." (Page 1)
"Both international and domestic laws recognize that extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures. The COVID-19 pandemic is such an extraordinary circumstance, and it requires that telecommunications companies (“telcos”) and governments take extraordinary measures to ensure that pe
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ople are not cut off from internet or phone service, often their lifeline to vital resources. To keep people safe and healthy in the context of physical distancing and lockdown measures, governments and telcos must work together to provide everyone, and especially women, girls, and others in under-represented and at-risk communities, access to an affordable, open, secure, stable, and high-speed internet. As COVID-19 continues to spread, governments and telcos around the world are taking a variety of approaches to internet connectivity, some beneficial and some harmful to human rights and public health. Below, we discuss some of these approaches and provide recommendations to help decision-makers increase connectivity and save lives." (Executive summary)
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"Though this toolkit explores COVID-19 as a focus topic, the methodology of remote outreaches and campaigns should be used in all the themes you report on in your radio shows; themes such as climate change, sexual and reproductive health, education, migration, violence and community safety, and othe
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rs. This process requires identifying the issues you want to tackle beyond the airwaves, considering how big an impact you’d like to make, who you would like to reach, and the steps it will take to get there while adhering to COVID-19 safety measures." (Introduction)
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