Make IEC Campaign against COVID-19 More Prescriptive and Service Oriented: Chief Secy

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra today directed the officials to make the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign against COVID-19 more prescriptive and useful for the people already infected by the virus.

Mahapatra gave these directions while reviewing the IEC on COVID-19 appropriate behavior on digital mode from Lokseba Bhawan today wherein Additional Chief Secretary Health and family Welfare Sri 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-19 is equally crucial for appropriate management of the COVID-19 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 advise, 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 care of the old, elderly, pregnant women, and persons of co-morbidity.

Further, the Chief Secretary 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 whatsaap 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. These information, said Mahapatra “will give more confidence to COVID-19 positive tested people in home isolation, and will be more helpful for their early cure”.

The modalities for intensifying IEC campaign through print, electronic and social media, audio visual clips, cartoon clips for children, hoardings, writing on swasthya kanthas were discussed in the meeting. IT was seen that around 12 types of COVID-19 awareness texts, 8 types of CAB messages, different AV clips on LED boards, advisories through, electronic and social media, and audio visual jingles were being disseminated through different media. Bulk SMs were also being sent to the people.

Principal Secretary Information and Public Relations Bishnupada Sethi said that appropriate contents would be redesigned in collaboration with State Institute for Health and Family Welfare (SIH & FW) for different media and audience. Additional Chief Secretary Sharma asked the SIH & FW to provide the health related technical inputs for IEC campaign in view of the changing COVID-19 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.