Alternate channels

Indian villages thrive on community-based communication. For long, this strong interdependence within the village groups has been leveraged to roll out some of the biggest and most transformative programmes of the Government of India. Eradication of polio; improvement in nutrition indices, sanitation and cleanliness; or the greater ground conceived to maternal and child health — all can be credited to the interpersonal communication interventions. In the areas where no smartphones or billboards could reach, and in cases where radio and TV advertisements failed to convince people sufficiently; door to door campaigns with the involvement of last-mile workers and volunteers have shown us the way. A casual conversation with an anganwadi worker over a meal of dal and rice in her courtyard could achieve what a detailed creative poster on child nutrition could not. An ASHA could convince a young mother of two sooner and better on the significance of family planning than a qualified medical professional or, for that matter, her own family members.

Whether it is information around developmental issues, government schemes, local wisdom and traditions, or mere gossip — interpersonal communication remains the key driver of information and knowledge in rural India. Mass gatherings — that ensure the flow of information, emotions and tradition — have also been a vital form of mass communication in our villages. Other forms of communication include fairs, community screening of films, folk dance and theatre. These age-old strong networks of communication are, however, significantly altered if not severed due to the pandemic. The pandemic did not only endanger our health and safety, but also brought significant socio-economic changes to our daily lives. It has deeply impacted our feelings, words and forms of expression. The second wave of the pandemic made inroads to the country's villages. The Hindu reported that 65 per cent of new cases since the beginning of June 2021 are from rural and semi-rural areas. As of June 18, India officially had 7,94,493 active COVID-19 cases and 16,546 deaths over the past seven days—most in rural regions.

The Government — with the support of various partners — has been making tremendous efforts to create awareness on COVID appropriate behaviour. It has been debunking myths and promoting facts to encourage vaccination. Still, there is a long way to go, especially in rural settings. Several reports claim that rural people consume 45 per cent (against 55 per cent in urban areas) of the overall mobile data usage. The ratio stood at 40:60 before the COVID outbreak. Irrespective of the above figures, communication remains a challenge in rural India. While TV and Radio have a greater presence in rural households, these are mostly looked towards for formal communication or entertainment than a medium for change. Poor physical accessibility, lack of access to digital means of communication and low network availability often add to the impediments to effective communication among rural masses. Even where village folks are well connected with social media platforms and the internet, the information received through smartphones is often perceived to be less authentic, limiting its persuasive potential.

In wake of the changes that rural communication channels underwent during the pandemic, it is important to re-think the methods to deliver vital information on COVID appropriate behaviour, vaccination, social protection, and overall well-being.

To begin with, the faith of the rural communities on public health staff and last-mile workers is immense. This could be leveraged to establish a rapport with them. During my trip to the insurgency-affected Bhongpal village in Bastar District of Chhattisgarh, I was amazed to see the trust bestowed upon by the Dhurwa tribe on the ANM (Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife) workers. While my crew and I received a suspicious look, the tribal folk did not hesitate in running up to the ANM to seek help and discuss issues beyond health. For most people in the villages, ASHAs, anganwadis and ANMs are the links to the government and all that it has to offer. There are over 2.25 million ANMs, 1.2 million anganwadi workers and almost a million ASHA workers in the country. Mostly referred to as didi, these women have reach in every home. They know almost everyone in the village by name. During the pandemic, these foot soldiers have not just been vehicles of information but have also shouldered the burden of providing critical aid to villagers. During the lockdowns, they offered one of the few channels of communication to raise awareness among communities. Their only limitation was a lack of connection with the outsider communities. Empowerment of these last-mile workers is essential to enhance the reach of any communication campaign in villages.

Additionally, the penetration of smartphones in rural settings is catching up rapidly. A large section of village youth looks to digital media for news and entertainment. The government can wield global and homegrown social media platforms to expand its reach. At present, there is no guiding policy or detailed action plan on the use of advertisements by the government on these platforms. Investment in optimising the use of these platforms could prove to be a gamechanger for reaching out to youth in villages.

Furthermore, the knowledge, belief and perception of people in a village not only differ from those of city dwellers but also from that of other villages. This is even more true for a country as diverse as India. The realities of a village in Uttar Pradesh are quite different from those in Tamil Nadu or Gujarat. The messages and methods should be developed in collaboration with the community, tailored to match their social environment, language and needs. According to the Rural Health Statistics (RHS 2019-20), there are 1,55,404 rural Sub Centres (SCs), 24,918 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and 5,183 Community Health Centres (CHCs). It is imperative to utilise the local structures and systems and garner support from community-based organisations, NGOs and self-help groups with which the government and development organisations have been working for decades to deliver welfare services in the villages. While the religious and community leaders, along with mukhiyas and sarpanchs, could be used as a voice to deliver messages, benefits like gas cylinders, water containers, bills and prescriptions etc. could be delivered through community and PDS centres. Partnerships and reinforcing capacities should be the keywords here. Apart from spreading promotional messages, the creation of credible feedback loops also becomes critically important.

Stigma, misconception and the failure to accept COVID as a bigger threat than economic crisis have emerged as some biggest challenges in front of rural India, and even a bigger roadblock to vaccination — the only possible way out from the pandemic.

To conclude, long-term investment needs to be made for encouraging health-seeking behaviour. Also, context-specific risk communication and infodemic management strategies targeted at the rural population should be prioritised. Communicating to build trust among rural populations, and delivering empathy and assurance are equally important steps today as communication is of critical importance for COVID management, especially in view of growing pandemic fatigue.

Views expressed are personal