Mangled messages causing confusion
There is a glaring unsureness in the narrative about how Ghanaians have responded to government directives on how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in this country.
We seem to say that we have done well.
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That is what our government officials say at every briefing and opportunity, that our numbers are as they are because of the success of the policy of contact tracing, isolation, treatment etc.
Before going further, one ought to commend the government on the conduct of the official briefings.
It is done professionally and handled with good sense and sensibilities.
Now, back to the official narrative. If all these tracing and treating activities, largely unseen by the public, account for the ‘positive’ outcome, how much more positive would the results be, if the public adhered to the messages on COVID-19 response.
The government has so far put the lid on public gatherings.
The restrictions appear to be holding in some sectors such as religious organisations and entertainment venues, but we know that in the main, they are being flouted.
Adherence?
Let us begin with staying at home. When he removed the partial lockdown, the President advised Ghanaians to stay at home, unless it was absolutely necessary to go out.
The President may be surprised to learn that every Ghanaian has found it absolutely necessary to go out.
In Accra, people are behaving as if the virus is not real, which is what a growing number of people believe. Some people are openly doubting the existence of the virus.
We have the same problem with social distancing. It is almost zero in the places where it is most needed, especially in our markets. It is zilch in people’s social interactions. It is life as usual.
The situation with masks is even more baffling. People have masks but they don’t wear them.
They wear them in institutions that insists on them, such as, the malls and big shops. Otherwise, people hang them under their chins as a fashion statement.
What is going on?
It is easy to tag the people flouting the guidelines and the protocols as irresponsible and lacking discipline. There is that, of course, otherwise this won’t be Ghana.
I am not surprised that in a country where young men riding motorbikes choose to hang their crash helmets on the handle of the bike rather than wear them, people will hang their masks under their chins and go their merry way. But is it all down to indiscipline?
Behavioural change
It is well known that in order to effect behaviour change, people must have the capacity to understand the change required, have the capacity to change and the motivation to do so.
The biggest obstacle to attitudinal change is usually the starting point, when ignorance prevents people from seeing the full benefits of the change required.
People started questioning whether the messages on COVID-19 were getting through to citizens, when people with responsible positions in society at places like Akropong/Akuapem and Accra, kingmakers reportedly breached the guidelines to carry out traditional activities.
The leaders involved in these activities would not normally be described as ignorant or undisciplined. Is it possible that they have not got the full picture of the intended messages? If they are not getting the message, what about the ordinary Kofi and Ama?
This is not a fanciful thought or making excuses for people who flout the guidelines.
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It is entirely possible that most people are not getting the message, which is why so many people are behaving against what should be in their own individual and our collective self-interest.
In order to ascertain what is going on with COVID-19 communication, we have to subject it to some basic technical scrutiny.
Response
One of the key elements of any response to emergencies and crises is communication; it is even more important when the crisis is of a medical nature. One misstep in the communication can result in a catastrophe.
This is why it is important to get the communication right. The communication that deals with such situations is often filed under the rubric of strategic communication.
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It has other names, but all of them will refer to communicating a concept, idea or plan that leads to the attainment of a long-term or strategic goal.
The purpose of any communication on COVID-19 is ultimately to prevent infections and the loss of lives.
The most important thing about any communication is the correct identification of the target audience.
It is tempting, but wrong to consider the whole nation as one undifferentiated audience.
We have different backgrounds, languages, levels of comprehension and all kinds of different competencies.
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Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all in communication of this sort.
In order to ensure that information about COVID-19 is put to good use by citizens, the authorities providing the information must plan the communication in such a way that the message is deliberately conveyed through the most suitable media to the designated audiences.
Therefore, the most important activity about communication management is planning. Most times, information is provided to everybody, in which case, it goes to nobody.
Sometimes, it is possible to send messages to large groups because they will all be presumed to share common understandings, but even simple information may convey different messages.
Announcement
The lockdown announcement that people should ‘stay at home’ unsurprisingly generated considerable confusion because ‘home’ means different things to different people in this country.
The source of information also matters in the creation and management of messages.
The same message coming from the police may convey a different meaning from it being issued by the district assembly, because the authorities are perceived differently.
People receive messages based on what they are already looking for, or to achieve. The lockdown came with large exemptions, which made sense in the circumstances.
However, for people looking to exploit or make use of the exemptions, that would have been the most important part, or even the only message in the communication.
We saw that with time, the exemptions were communicated horizontally among friends and neighbours and the lockdown was threatened.
The same process led to the sharing of food to people in need. It was not meant to compensate people for loss of earnings, but that was how the message appeared to have been received by some people.
We must remember that communication is strategic when it is completely in line with the objectives being sought by the originators of the message.
When you give conflicting information or the same information for different situations, the intended recipients will be confused and the response will be confusing.
We must remember that messages do not come only in words.
We can say a lot in words, but the real messages may come in nonverbal forms like our actions.
So, for example, when government ministers appear in public, bunched together with no regard to social distancing or not wearing masks the images give a different message from the guidance provided for the rest of us.
Communication, often done as a last minute tack-on, or haphazardly organised, can undermine policies meant for the good of the public.
Therefore, those who have responsibilities for sending messages regarding COVID-19 must remember that where we stand now, we can avert the exponential explosion in infections forecast by the gloomiest projection, or we can achieve the optimistic outcomes offered by our government.
A lot depends on how the messages are sent and received.
So far, it appears that the message may have been mangled on the way…
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