According to WHO “Corona-virus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus”
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes, and how it spreads. Staying at home, washing hands, or using an alcohol-based rub(sanitizer) frequently and not touching the face are basic ways to protect one and others from the infection. The virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that people are also advised to practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow). At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments.
The major issue for institutions, organizations, villages, cities, states, regions, nations, and the world at large has been to take all safety measures that would keep the virus away and for situations of the virus, avoid the spread.
Sensitization In a Digital Age
The world has recorded a decrease in the spread of the virus in every space where there is a high knowledge about the virus, its transmission, and all. This is to say that the power of knowledge can not be disputed and the urgent need to sensitize every part is the secret to a reduced and final stop of the spread.
The world has a high population of infected persons already, managing that population without incurring further spread, would be the smartest option. In Nigeria, we can not be sure of the number of infected persons as our testing rates are too low when ratioed to our population. According to https://allafrica.com/stories/202004280009.html The 11,426 tests Nigeria recorded at the weekend after two months was just 0.01 percent of the over 200 million population it has.
This suggests that we are struggling with more trouble than we know or seem to acknowledge.
There is an URGENT need for intense and thorough sensitization to people living in both the rural and urban areas of the nation. This urgency comes as we all need to be aware of the situation, to enable us to stay safe and keep our direct environs safe too.
Mechanism
Living in a digital age gives us an edge over past generations and makes communication much easier. There has been on what and how to use the digital tools to better sensitize people on the reality of the coronavirus.
Most of these innovative initiatives have answered the sensitization questions for digital literate people and smartphone users, with little attention to the rest of the nation's population.
Sensitization mediums like individual and group sensitization, radio and Television sensitization, print media, social media, and in some smart cases, bulk SMS have been used across so many locations to sensitize citizens.
The Problem with individual and group sensitization medium is that it exposes directly to the virus and this goes against the professional advice and enforcement of lockdowns and no gatherings to avoid the spread of this deadly virus.
The radio and Television seem just the right space, but if we are sincere to ourselves, we would appreciate the fact that not every citizen has access to either a Radio or Television and some wouldn't even understand the use of English and might end up interpreting wrongly.
Writing newspaper and magazine articles sounds cool but reading newspapers are for good readers who can inseminate the message.
The use of short videos, infographics, and skits on social media are totally innovative but this medium is only restricted to the population using smartphones, having access to the internet, and able to afford data at this point in the economy.
Research has shown that at least 87% of Nigerian young people and adults use cell phones. Most of these phones are not smartphones, making it almost impossible to access the internet but totally easy to receive SMS and calls.
The above statement makes bulk SMS a win situation as it would reach more people than previously mentioned mediums would do, but like newspapers and articles, you need to be literate enough to translate text messages, and this restricts the real end-users of the medium. According to “Knoema”, Nigeria's adult literacy rate was at a level of 62 % in 2018 and might have reduced to 48% in the past year. This suggests that at least 50% of Nigerian citizens are not literate, faulting the idea of a bulk SMS since half of the population might either not read it all clearly or not understand even if read.
All of the above initiatives have proven to serve a limited population as the usage and accessibility barriers come glaring. Making the smartest initiate, the ROBO-Call.
Robo-Calls are phone calls that use a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot.
Unlike every other, the RoboCall can serve a bigger population in all locations and all ages. We have a great percentage of phone users across the nation, with less than 40% having access to smartphones, making phone calls the easiest means to reach the masses in both the rural and urban areas.
To bridge the communication gaps from languages, pre-recorded voice sensitization messages on the virus and the need to avoid spreading it in the preferred local dialect of each region, addressing all phone users in the region/state will be the digital answer to reach the basics. This medium is the solution to the flaws of every other initiative and totally the most effective in a time like this when contact or direct communication is a taboo.
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