World Health Organization: Infodemic
Supporting the World Health Organization fight the Infodemic
“In February of 2020, when much of the world was just wrapping its mind around the COVID-19 fundamentals, and trying to navigate the flood of information about it, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, raised the alarm that “we’re not just fighting an epidemic, we’re fighting an infodemic.”
Here are four projects:
WHO publishes a public health agenda for managing infodemics
In June 2020, the WHO published a public health research agenda. It was partly based on a huge conference with 5 streams and 65 research questions. The resulting reports are full of graphics, live graphic recordings, and key insights to help shape the research that WHO knew would be needed. Reports are available for free download.
https://www.who.int/news/item/02-02-2021-who-public-health-research-agenda-for-managing-infodemics
Here is the link to all of the graphic recordings from the 1st WHO Infodemiology conference: https://www.who.int/teams/risk-communication/infodemic-management/1st-who-infodemiology-conference
Infodemic Manager Training
This training covers a range of infodemic management skills and topics to promote resilience of individuals and communities to the infodemic, including misinformation, and to promote self efficacy of individuals for self-protective health behaviours. With dozens of illustrations, part of this training used a metaphor of “infodemic manager unicorns” who are really the superheroes, on the front lines of misinformation around the world.
Third Infodemic Conference: Dec 2020
This third Infodemic conference had multiple tracks to combat the infodemic, including public/private partnerships, the media, the role of non-governmental organizations in collaboration and more.
https://www.who.int/teams/risk-communication/infodemic-management/3rd-virtual-global-who-infodemic-management-conference
Fourth Infodemic Conference: Social Listening for Public Health
Bonus project:
Plus, we knew we couldn’t “take” a group photo at one of these first, important events – so Drawing Change created one with illustration!