For a country, being ready to face an infectious disease outbreak requires, among other things, the capability to reach and involve all the components of the society. Especially those that are more exposed to health threats due to low quality housing, poor nutrition, lack of parental education and weak links to health services, as it happened in the 2010 measles epidemic in Bulgaria, where 90% of recorded cases occurred within the so-called Roma community.
As AIDS taught and TELL ME project highlighted, the risk of stigma in case of an infectious disease can sometimes be very strong. This is an innate reaction to the fear of catching an infection, but it often irrationally widens to discriminate people depending on their ethnicity, origin or job. According to Charlie Cooper, health reporter for The Independent, media can deeply influence the public in this.
The report published in March 2015 by Medecins sans frontières speaks out clearly against the “global coalition of inaction” and the “vacuum of leadership” in the Ebola crisis in West Africa. Those who were struggling in the field against a huge and out-of-control emergency, without the necessary resources, list the main causes of such a situation: lack of political will, inexperience, and, sometimes, simply fear.
Undoubtedly, epidemics and pandemics are good examples of extraordinary circumstances that may require extraordinary measures. Such exceptionality, however, should not provide an alibi for pandemic planners and policy makers to ignore fundamental human rights. This is why ethics should always be a key element to be considered when planning a proper response to such global health threats.
The World Immunization Week, which will be held from 24-30 April 2015, will signal a renewed global, regional, and national effort to accelerate action to increase awareness and demand for immunization by communities, and improve vaccination delivery services.
The recent cases of measles outbreaks in US and Europe reignited the debate on vaccines, the science behind them and the conflict between the right to individual freedom and the state intervention. Amongst the several factors that contribute to the decrease of vaccination coverage – especially in some groups – vaccine hesitancy is one of particular interest, which should require much greater attention from public health and epidemiology, medical sociology, anthropology, and the behavioural, economic and political sciences.
One of the ASSET’s purposes is to develop its approach on different levels, from the global to the local one. This will include both the analysis of specific experiences and the production of new initiatives. According to this aim, the Bulgarian National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) has just released the Local Communication Plan for Bulgaria, which is a complement of the Communication Strategy of the ASSET project.
The ASSET Communication Strategy consists of a general strategy, drafted for the whole Consortium, and Local Communication Plans for different countries. The Local Communication Plan, prepared for Bulgaria, aims to provide a general strategic framework, which can facilitate the further planning of actions, aimed at fulfilling the objectives, set out in the general communication strategy within the specific national context.
TELL ME is a 36-month Collaborative Project, which aims to provide evidence and to develop models for improved risk communication during infectious disease crises. TELL ME combines public health, social sciences, behavioural sciences, political sciences, law, ethics, communication and media, in order to develop original communication strategies regarding complicated messages and advice based on uncertainties, also addressing vaccine-resistant groups.
Here is a list of the TELL ME deliverables that have strong implications with the ASSET aims and purposes:
