ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Facebook have partnered to fight Covid-19 as the world’s prominent social media platform has provided Marketing Partner Support and Ad Credits for campaigns against the deadly virus and helped the government increase its engagement rates with the public on these posts.

As part of these campaigns, Facebook and some ministries focused on creating videos and messages for boosting “vaccine confidence” amongst the public.

The messaging campaigns helped the Ministry of Health increase its total number of page likes to 470,000, increasing the government’s ability to connect with the people and provide information to its stakeholders.

In a statement, Facebook has said it is important to come together as a community to protect each other through credible health information and support vaccine confidence in the community.

Messages prepared for boosting people’s confidence regarding vaccination

As Covid-19 vaccines are becoming more readily available to larger groups, Facebook launched its new profile frames in partnership with the Ministry of Health that allow users to share their support for getting vaccinated with their family and friends.

Research shows when people see others who they know and trust getting the vaccine, they are encouraged to do the same. A campaign to create awareness about spotting Covid-related misinformation on social media has been launched in Urdu for the Facebook community in Pakistan in partnership with the Digital Media Wing of the Ministry of Information.

This can particularly be effective when it comes to encouraging those who are otherwise unsure about getting themselves vaccinated.

The statement contains a message by Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, who said that 76 per cent of the target population has been reached through social media messaging campaigns.

“The pandemic has brought to the forefront the importance of using digital tools for transmitting critical health information to citizens and keeping them safe and healthy,” Dr Sultan said, adding that Facebook has worked to take aggressive steps to remove harmful misinformation and connect people to resources from health authorities.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2021