Infodemic very difficult to handle, taking measures to counter it: UNICEF Chief of Advocacy

We asked UNICEF what they have done to curb untrue and misleading information. They explained us how their teams work with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and counter misinformation.

New Delhi: As part of the World Immunization Week (WIW) observance, UNICEF and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) Tuesday held an interactive engagement session with health journalists to reinforce media support for increased uptake of routine immunization of children.

Certain deaths reported after the administration of corona vaccine in India were inadvertently associated with the vaccine. Misinformation related to these deaths was spreading across the social media platforms including WhatsApp. During the interactive session, ETV Bharat asked whether UNICEF had taken any action to curb untrue and misleading information.

UNICEF Chief of Advocacy Zafrin Chowdhury said: "Infodemic is very very difficult to handle. There is too much misinformation and UNICEF is trying their best to counter it. For example, we try to procure questions through social media, and try to understand the kind of discussions there and the kind of misinformation that gets traction. We also try to address these through social discussions."

She informed that UNICEF works closely with the MoHFW to counter misinformation. With our teams deployed in social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, we carry out real time monitoring and countering of misinformation day and night. We try numerous specific ways to address misinformation and to find how exactly the people are being influenced negatively, Zafrin said.

As we hope to emerge from the pandemic, this WIW brings us an opportunity to renew our commitment to create a fresh momentum to raise awareness and action on the importance of completing vaccination for all children and for greater investment in the health systems. The media and key stakeholders have a critical role in creating the momentum, she added.

WIW is a global event annually observed in the last week of April. The theme for this year’s immunization week is ’long life for all,’ with ‘long life’ reflecting the importance of vaccinations for a long and healthy life and the importance of vaccine equity.

Dr Veena Dhawan, Additional Commissioner (Immunization), MoHFW, reeled out the statistics on the Universal Immunization programme and the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 launched in early 2022 to accelerate the vaccination coverage of children and pregnant women in targeted districts and blocks.

Highlighting the role of media as a crucial partner to create awareness on the importance of every dose of vaccine to be taken by each child, Veena said that IMI 4.0 focuses on identifying and vaccinating these vulnerable groups of children, who have missed out of any dose or who have dropped out on some doses.

India annually targets approximately 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.7 crore children for vaccination through the Universal Immunization Programme. As per latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 data, Full Immunization Coverage (FIC) among children aged 12-23 months has recorded substantial improvement from 62 per cent to 76 per cent at all-India level.