Turkish Outbreak and Response, The

Author

Erica Kochi

UNICEF

Publication Date

February 6 2006

Summary

This PowerPoint presentation discusses the avian influenza (avian flu or bird flu) outbreak in Turkey, providing an overview including information about the initial response, lessons learned, and recommendations going forward.

The presentation explains that the outbreak response was hampered by a number of factors. Harsh weather hampered culling efforts as roads to remote towns and villages were impassable due to heavy snow. The bad weather also meant that people were keeping animals inside. Government and United Nations (UN) offices were closed because of the Eid holiday, delaying response, and schools were closed for three weeks, meaning children were at home in constant proximity to poultry. Socio-economic conditions also meant that people often hid their poultry from authorities as they were unclear about compensation and compensation was too little. At the same time marginalised groups were less willing to present themselves at hospitals.

The presentation also states that there were problems with mixed messages to the public:

cluttered messages in Turkish designed for marginalised (not usually Turkish-speaking) communities;

message dissemination also hampered by harsh weather;

not enough synchronisation of messages from different UN agencies; and

messages sent out were conflicting and confusing, promoting misinformation and often led to inaccurate perception of risk.

The presentation mentions several actions that the government of Turkey put in place to respond to the outbreak. In terms of communication, this included a mass media blanket, 24/7 hotlines, mobilising imams and village heads to pass the message to communities, and producing leaflets for schoolchildren. It also mentions UNICEF Turkey's response, which included taking the lead in setting up a communication task force and offering immediate communication support to UN partners and government. UNICEF Turkey also contracted a public relations firm to develop materials - a television spot, posters, leaflets etc, and provided journalists' training.

The presentation looks at the communication aspect from the perspective of two provinces. The perspective from Van finds that communication was exemplary, with everyone knowing about avian flu and how to protect themselves, and children very well informed. Television was the primary channel used and considered effective in delivering the right messages telling cullers not to accept help from people, especially children and for people to stay away from birds and wash hands with soap. In comparison, the perspective from Urfa was that there was inadequate communication with no one knowing how to prevent animal to animal transmission, unclear information about compensation, and little mention of prevention behaviours. The single communication channel was not effective, especially for women and children, and the message that people get avian influenza from eating chicken or eggs was incorrect.

Lessons learned in Turkey:

the government of Turkey has the ability to mount an effective response;

co-ordination between the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture is critical;

government leadership is a determining factor for knowledge and action - clear directives are vital;

communication strategy must be designed for women and children;

compensation strategy must be clear;

field observation is vital; and

government and the UN could have been better prepared.

In going forward the following actions are recommended:

mobilising existing networks such as the Child Friendly Media Network, Girls Education Campaign volunteers, and health workers and midwives;

building and adapting research-informed communication materials such as earthquake materials;

working with the Ministry of Health to develop an education package with teacher training and games which include hygiene promotion;