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Pacific Health

COVID-19 LESSONS FOR PUBLIC

HEALTH MESSAGING

By Mere Nailatikau healing, organic remedies and a belief in their strong natural
immunity to disease.
Whether it was the early reports out of China in late 2019,
the World Health Organization’s announcement of a pandemic Inoculating against misinformation
in March 2020, or the dreaded first official announcement Preventing misinformation is a key lesson from the pan-
of an in-country case, everyone remembers a moment they demic. Research shows that misinformation spreads faster
realised the COVID-19 pandemic would change their lives. than attempts to debunk falsehoods, continuing to influence
COVID-19 has since caused more than five million deaths, thinking even when recipients are told that the misinforma-
debilitating economies, health, and social protection systems. tion is false. Understanding how to ‘prebunk’ or inoculate
As its aftershocks roll on, the question remains: What can we Pacific communities against misinformation will be critical for
learn from the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare us for media, policymakers and authorities.
future health emergencies? Dialogue Fiji found “those living in the urban [areas] (57.8%)
were more likely to believe in conspiracy theor[ies] than
Trust in public institutions those in rural settings (42.2%).” Scepticism surrounding vac-
“In parts of the Pacific, government responses to COVID-19 cine safety was also found to be “higher among people who
have been marked by limited transparency, oversight and pub- use social media as a trusted source of information, and those
lic engagement,” observed Joseph Veramu and Katie Mackey who believe in COVID-related conspiracy theories.”
at Transparency International. They highlighted unheeded Macdonald cautioned against dismissing local perceptions in
calls from civil society for greater involvement in government PNG, strongly urging a respectful, sensitive approach founded
response efforts in Fiji and the broader hard-line ‘no jab, no on clear, detailed information to “persuade ordinary people
job’ policies and allegations of misuse of public funds that the vaccine is a divine blessing and not a Satanic curse”.
have stoked controversy globally.
Fiji health authorities struggled to deliver daily updates on Greater transparency not less
time, eroding trust and interest in actionable public health As Veramu and Mackey argue, a swift response in times of
information. However as the pandemic wore on, authorities crisis remains crucial, requiring “greater transparency, not
made significant efforts to convey clear information, trans- less,” to bolster public trust and keep citizens informed.
lated into vernacular languages. The Pacific has led many positive steps, including establish-
Public health messaging aside, anthropologist Fraser ing the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway within weeks of the pan-
Macdonald posited that within Melanesian societies like PNG, demic reaching its shores. Pacific Island countries have acted
“physicality is intimately connected to morality and spiritual- quickly and decisively to remain COVID-free and encourage
ity”, rendering biomedical explanations for disease secondary vaccine uptake. Those battling the pandemic like Fiji have
or irrelevant. worked admirably to inform citizens and roll out vaccines, at
latest count vaccinating 90% of the eligible population.
Determinants of vaccine hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy persists in Pacific countries, surfacing in Beyond the pandemic
Samoa at the height of its measles epidemic and in Fiji and Not even the best equipped countries emerged unscathed
PNG in response to COVID-19. from COVID-19. As research and analysis hopefully inform
Fiji Women’s Rights Movement and Dialogue Fiji research policies and resourcing, learning and acting in advance of the
has found that conspiracy theories and vaccine efficacy con- next public health emergency promises benefits beyond the
cerns outweighed religion in Fijian respondents’ reasons for pandemic.
not taking the vaccine. “This is important not only for this pandemic, but also for
In its rapid assessment of Fijian women’s perceptions of the threats of the future - and not only for infectious diseases
the COVID-19 vaccine, the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement like COVID-19, but also from non-communicable diseases
raised “the complex health seeking behaviours of women as it threats such as those from tobacco and our broken food sys-
concerns herbal and traditional medicine in the context of the tem, and for environmental challenges such as pollution and
COVID-19 vaccine” as a priority for research and collabora- climate change,” said WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom
tion. Ghebreyesus.
Meanwhile Macdonald writes that with just 1.7% of Papua Recovering with integrity and fostering trust through nu-
New Guineans fully vaccinated against COVID-19, “this is anced public messaging to counter and inoculate against mis-
not vaccine hesitancy, but full-blown opposition, a genuine information would place Pacific countries on steadier footing
antipathy,” which has seen some equate the COVID-19 vaccine as they journey towards recovery.
with the mark of the beast, signalling the world’s moral de-
cline. “People also have a well-founded distrust of outsiders, editor@islandsbusiness.com
and they view both the virus and vaccine as foreign assaults
on PNG’s sovereignty,” Macdonald added. Mere Nailatikau is a development professional based in Fiji
Anti-vaccination sentiments notwithstanding, Papua New with experience in public diplomacy, research and strategic
Guineans acknowledge that COVID-19 is real and life-threat- communication
ening, turning instead to alternative treatments of faith-based

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