Facebook has partnered with Bangladesh’s ICT Division and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to announce a campaign to raise awareness about COVID-19 and help Bangladeshis get vaccinated. The campaign aims to increase people’s uptake of preventive health practices and vaccination intent in the country.
Facebook will take several steps to holistically support vaccine rollout and the nationwide awareness campaign towards safe hygiene practices, particularly given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. By encouraging people to visit COVID-19 Information Center, which is also available in Bangla, the platform will make it easier for people to access credible information and best practices on preventive hygiene measures. It also contains modules on mental health and vaccine safety, and provides easy access to www.corona.gov.bd for latest government directives.
Through News Feed notifications, Facebook will direct people to register for COVID-19 vaccine on www.surokkha.gov.bd and nudge them to continue wearing masks. On World Health Day, the social media platform launched a public education campaign (www.fightcovidmisinfo.com) to help Bangladeshis learn how to identify and combat false information about COVID-19 and related health measures. The public education modules are available in Bangla to ensure that it is more relatable and practical to people in the country.
“As Bangladesh is seeing a significant spike in COVID-19 cases like many parts of the world, it’s reassuring to see how health awareness and safe vaccination efforts have been ramped up to reach more people in the country,” said Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, who leads Public Policy for Bangladesh at Facebook. “By working closely with the national health agencies and public health experts, and using Facebook’s scale and speed to reach people, we are committed to do our part to help Bangladeshis access credible information, adopt safe health practices, get vaccinated and come together as a community.”
In Bangladesh, Facebook has been working closely with the ICT Division and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh throughout the pandemic to increase awareness on COVID-19 preventive health practices.
“Today, it has become crucial for us, as a community, to work hand-in-hand to protect ourselves as increasing adoption of digital lifestyle by all walks of society exposes us to new risks of unprecedented proportions ranging from identity theft to wrong decision because of disinformation. I would like to thank Facebook for taking this broad measure and we are delighted to be part of this campaign to promote vaccination, mask wearing and social distancing to a much greater population,” said Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor of a2i (Aspire to Innovate) Programme, ICT Division and Cabinet Division, Government of Bangladesh and UNDP Bangladesh. He added, “At a2i, we are constantly coming up with new innovations and measures to ease the lives of our citizens during these difficult times. We look forward to working with Facebook in finding newer ways to help the citizens of our country.”
Globally, Facebook has connected over 2 billion people to resources from health authorities through the COVID-19 Information Center and removed more than 12 million pieces of harmful misinformation about COVID-19 and approved vaccines from its family of apps.