Thread by @jess_ilunga

Hi everyone,
I'm really excited to lead the #PRChatAfrica discussion tonight. If you also joined the #ACWCommsChat, I hope you still have some energy left for this chat.
Don't forget to use the #PRChatAfrica when you send your comments or questions.

https://twitter.com/PRChatAfrica/status/1240700332205682689

As a quick intro, I am Congolese but I grew up in Belgium. Before working for the #DRC Ministry of Health, I had no background in #health communications. I wasn't even supposed to work there. I was in DRC on holiday just for a couple weeks and I ended up living there for 2 years.

During my time at the MoH, I found myself having to deal with a major #cholera outbreak across the country, even in Kinshasa. A month after it ended, we had the country's 9th #Ebola outbreak. And literally a week after the end of that outbreak, we had the 10th Ebola outbreak.

So yeah, fun times!
Although I had no #HealthComms background, I was lucky enough to attend @WHO Emergency Communications Network (ECN) training a couple of weeks before the 9th #Ebola outbreak started. It was an invaluable experience that really helped me shape the MOH comms.

Now let's delve into the topic of tonight #PRChatAfrica : Lessons learned from DRC #Ebola outbreaks.
My presentation will be divided into 5 parts:
1. Planning
2. Stakeholder partnership
3. Messaging
4. Media relations
5. Social media

PART 1 - PLANNING
The key in #CrisisComms is planning and adaptability. That's actually something I love about #CrisisComms. The uncertainty of the situation sometimes forces you to be creative, and think outside the box to adapt to the new circumstances.

The goal of the planning stage is to collect information about risk factors and prepare the response. Ideally, the MOH should have response plans ready for different types of crises. That includes a #CrisisComms plan that must be regularly reviewed and updated. #PRChatAfrica

Strangely enough, despite the fact that #DRC has had numerous #Ebola outbreaks, there was no comprehensive, written Ebola response plan. People kind of knew what to do but there were no written processes. In terms of comms, there was just nothing. I had to start from scratch.

As a basis, I would recommend this content for a #CrisisComms plan:
° Vision
° Team members and responsibilities
° Message development processes
° Templates for statements, press releases and FAQ
° Media contacts
° Key stakeholder contacts

For me, the vision for the comms strategy was very clear. My ultimate goal was to mitigate the negative effects of the #Ebola crisis on DRC overall economy by reducing the fear of a potential spread of the virus. It required quick, factual & transparent communication from the MOH

I wanted the MOH, and more broadly the #DRC government, to be a trusted and credible source of information on the outbreak. This was really important to me because we always hear that African governments cannot be trusted. I wanted to change that.

In terms of the #comms team at the MOH, we were only 5 people:
- Me
- 1 assistant dealing with local media
- 1 photographer
- 1 videographer
- 1 graphist
For such a massive crisis, we were badly understaffed. And except me, no one else had experience in strategic communications.

PART 2 - STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS
Communicating openly with your national and international stakeholders is essential to prevent, manage and recover from a crisis. The first step is to identify those stakeholders and understand their concerns.
#PRChatAfrica

After that first step, you can start thinking about your messages and the mediums of communication you will use to reach your stakeholders.
That's when we start the third part of the presentation: Messaging.
#PRChatAfrica

PART 3 - MESSAGING
In this part, there are 2 sections:
° General advice on developing your messages
° Mediums of communication
--------
I think effective communication during a #crisis has 5 key elements: responsiveness, honesty, simplicity, compassion & empowerment
#PRChatAfrica

In terms of mediums of #communication, we had to be creative simply because the MOH website was down when the outbreak started and nobody was managing it. So we used other, more effective channels to get our messages out.
#PRChatAfrica

1) Mailchimp
Every evening, I sent a daily Ebola update to national and international stakeholders via a mass email distribution service. Beyond sharing the numbers, I also wanted to tell the stories from the field to show the incredible work of Congolese healthcare workers.

2) MOH social media
Our social media platforms was a great, cost-effective way to:
- Keep people updated with the latest developments
- Raise awareness & share preventive measures
We even created a mini-series explaining the different parts of the response on our YouTube channel

3) Traditional media (TV, radio, online news)
Every media in the country received the daily #Ebola updates. Specific radio programs were created in epidemic areas to present the daily number of cases, news about the response and preventive measures to rural communities.

PART 4 - MEDIA RELATIONS
When a crisis hits, your country is brought under the spotlight generating a lot of interest from media around the world. I won't say if it's a good or bad thing. It's just how it is. So you must learn how to deal with this intense scrutiny. #PRChatAfrica

1) Select your spokespersons
Not everyone can speak for the country during a #crisis. This is extremely important to ensure the unity of the government #communication. Conflicting messages will only make things worse by creating fear and increasing uncertainty. #PRChatAfrica

For the #Ebola outbreaks, there were spokespersons at different levels of the response:
° International: President and DRC ambassadors
° National: Minister of Health and Comms Director
° Provincial: Governor and provincial ministers of health
° Local: Local response coordinators

2) Interviews
To maintain the unity of the govt messages, I had to prepare talking points to every spokesperson before an interview, and even presentations on the outbreak for #DRC ambassadors, especially those in New York, Geneva & Addis Ababa ahead of international meetings.

3) Media training for journalists
Media in #DRC face a major obstacle: limited financial resources & lack of training, especially in rural areas. Most journalists I’ve met learned on-the-job and never went to journalism schools. I also never met specialized health journalists.

As a result, the MOH has the responsibility to train journalists on the disease so that they can relay information correctly. It is essential because you can't achieve behaviour change without the help of the #media.
#PRChatAfrica

4) #WhatsApp group
Being based in #Kinshasa, I had to find a quick way to communicate with journalists in the affected regions. Also, most journalists asked me the same questions. So I created a WhatsApp group to facilitate the exchange of information with them.
#PRChatAfrica

In that #WhatsApp group, I would share:
° Daily #Ebola updates
° Pictures and videos from the field
° Sounds of interviews which could then be broadcasted on community radios
It was pretty effective and international journalists also asked to join the group.
#PRChatAfrica

5) Press field visits
Many journalists would ask us to visit field operations, especially international ones. I set up an authorisation system that would require journalists to receive the authorisation from the MOH before filming or taking pictures of teams & field activities.

It might seem logical, especially for #health operations, but that had never been done before in #DRC. For me, this was essential because I wanted to preserve the dignity of affected communities and minimise the disruption of the work of our teams in the field.
#PRChatAfrica

PART 5 - SOCIAL MEDIA & #FAKENEWS
Misinformation was terribly bad during the latest #Ebola outbreak. The worst thing is that misinformation actually came from some opinion leaders (politicians of the opposition, religious leaders, celebrities...). It was a nightmare.#PRChatAfrica

On top of that, you also had random #fakenews that were shared on social media. We used to say that there was a misinformation outbreak within the #Ebola outbreak.
The biggest lesson from that experience was that you must correct false information as quickly as possible! ⏳

Because if you don't, people will just assume that it is true and you won't be able to do anything about it.
The key is to set up a social media & #media monitoring system to spot fake news and choose the most effective ways to respond to them.
#PRChatAfrica

NEVER underestimate the power of misinformation. Even when a #fakenews seems stupid or unrealistic to you, you don't know what local communities might think. So take everything you read seriously and create specific messages in response to that.
#PRChatAfrica

On Facebook and Twitter, it is relatively easy to spot fake news. The issue is with WhatsApp. In #DRC, many people are in WhatsApp groups. #PRChatAfrica

In North-Kivu and Ituri, the affected regions, people use WhatsApp groups as a primary source of information especially when they hear about an attack by an armed militia. WhatsApp groups are almost always the first place where you get information about what is going on.

Because I couldn't be in all the groups, I worked with a group of young people who were already in all of them. They would share with us the misinformation sent in those groups. Then, the MOH would work on developing countermessages that they would share in those groups.

So that will be all for tonight. I hope you enjoyed the presentation. 😄
Now let's start the Q&A. I can't wait to hear your questions and suggestions.
#PRChatAfrica