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One Health

One Health

Updates on research, policy and teaching activities exploring the complex relationships between human, animal and planetary health.

WOHC Fellows Blog: How is a South Asian nation, Nepal, communicating on COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic which first appeared in China in January 2020, has adversely affected the lives of people all over the world. The pandemic has changed the way we live. While the pandemic is going on, we are learning new ways to survive. New challenges have emerged and different societies are evolving differently in terms of social and cultural behaviors in order to respond to these new challenges.

 

One of the major aspects of life that has been greatly affected is our ways of communicating. While new platforms such as Google Meet and Zoom cannot take the place of real gatherings, these tools have provided new options to connect with each other. Similarly, the 6th World One Health Congress which was held virtually also proved to be an excellent platform for sharing scientific findings, opinions, and thoughts. This virtual edition has made it possible for participants from different places of the world to interact and present.

 

In the present time, communicating information effectively about COVID-19 is a key concern of governments. Everyone wants to have accurate information and updates on what is going on. Receiving news from different sources also keeps the public in confusion and fear. So, the Ministry of Health and Population, based in the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal, organizes a COVID-19 press briefing every afternoon to convey the right information. The spokesperson of the Ministry, Prof. Dr. Jageshwar Gautam gives the country’s updates on COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours. This includes the number of: PCR tests, new cases, discharged, deaths together with other information, related to all of Nepal, and the seven different provinces of Nepal. This press brief is broadcasted live on the Facebook page of the Ministry. Similarly, the situation update report of COVID-19 is also made available both on the Facebook page and Viber, by the Ministry. The Ministry also updates the report on its mobile app. named “Hamro Swasthya” which means “Our Health” in English. The information from the Ministry is official and authentic.

 

Later, this information is shared by different new channels (TV, radio, and Youtube) and different newspapers. The national channels and newspapers provide the information on the whole country while local ones give updates of the respective districts. This way of distributing news has greatly helped people with no access or skills to use smartphones. Thus, the communication system has more or less covered the people at every level.

 

Besides these, interviews and panel discussions with health experts and physicians are also broadcasted on TV, radio and Youtube channels. Different organizations and social clubs also conduct informative webinars via Google Meet and Zoom. NepMeds, a digital health service company also conducted a live session in September, bringing together respiratory physicians and public health experts. While different sectors are working diligently to share data and precautions on COVID-19, some Nepalese academics have also devoted their time to coming up with interesting COVID-19 related articles to communicate the scenario of Nepal through their scientific eyes.

 

Sirjan Bastola

The University of Edinburgh Fellow

6th World One Health Congress

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