Informed Ukrainians Protect Their Families from Avian Flu
When Avian Flu (AI) appeared in Ukraine in December 2005, Ukraine came face to face with a virus with global implications along with the agricultural and economic losses that coincide with controlling it. A lack of understanding about how the virus spreads and how to control it has resulted in misunderstandings and mistakes in other countries. In order to give the Ukrainian public much-needed information, USAID sponsored a national public awareness effort. Right after initial AI outbreak in Ukraine, UREP created and launched a nationwide information campaign called AI: Possible Threats for Ukraine, Real Situation and Preventive Measures. The campaign aimed to increase public awareness on how to protect agricultural industry, private households and personal health.
 |
AI brochures and posters produced by UREP
Photo Credit: Hanna Aleksyeenko |
Television and radio public service announcements ran daily on Ukrainian National TV Channel 1, Studio 1+1 TV and National Radio to advise people on how to maintain hygiene standards when working with, or cooking, poultry. Some 28,000 copies of a colorful booklet informing Ukrainians about AI in poultry and humans, the symptoms and protective measures, titled Popularly about AI, were distributed in regional Press Clubs and through U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. UREP also developed informational flyers, which were distributed in the affected areas as soon as the first AI cases in poultry were registered in Crimea.
Regional journalists were a great help in informing Ukrainians about AI. After attending UREP national seminars in November 2005 and April 2006, regional journalists increasingly began informing and educating local communities instead of seeding panic. Seminars in Simferopol, Odesa, Donetsk and Chernihiv in the fall of 2005 significantly increased awareness among regional veterinarians, epidemiologists and agricultural producers on internationally recommended effective protective measures.
Local sanitary epidemiological officials and veterinarians now meet with target audiences on a monthly basis at 24 regional Press Clubs to separate fact from fiction. Currently, an Information Telephone Hotline continues to take phone calls and provide advice. The most immediate concern is to educate rural inhabitants on proper poultry handling and the need to keep domestic poultry locked up during the spring wild birds’ migratory period.
Back to Top ^ |
