The Health Education & Awareness Programs Department of the Ministry of Health (MOH) has following with great interest the emerge of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since the first announcement of detection of cases infected with COVID-19 in China. 

In an upstream phase, the Department was part of the monitor & surveillance team formed by the Ministry to follow-up the developments of the disease.

Nawal bint Ali Al-Rashdi, Director of the Health Education & Awareness Programs Department praised all efforts of the awareness team of the Department and the double health education work on this disease to curb its spread.

The Department of Health Education & Awareness Programs has developed precautionary strategies before the COVID-19 outbreak in the Sultanate, taking into account the sensitivity of the communities towards pandemics and communicable diseases in general, as well as the community’s ability to implement the guidelines and commitment at the same time. Therefore, the concern was in place to communicate the information in line with the Omani environment in different segments across the Governorates and for all nationalities residing in the Sultanate.

According to the specialty, an awareness team has been distributed and launched a campaign aimed to explain the virus’s symptoms and spread, which resulting positively in decreasing its arrival to the Sultanate relatively, and providing advice to not travel to the endemic countries. As well as the health authorities and institutions have been provided with the initial virus-related information by podcasting awareness brochures and messages.

The Health Education & Awareness Programs Department made sure to broadcasting the awareness guidelines, identifying the coronavirus and its precautionary measures even before being categorized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). It also designed awareness messages to be published in all print and audio-visual media, as well as the media social.

The Department also concerned with people with hearing disabilities by communicating with the Oman Association for the Hearing Impaired and providing awareness messages to be broadcasted to this segment in various languages (Arabic, English, Urdu, Persian, Indian and Chinese). It supervised the scientific material before broadcasting to the mass media.

The Department communicated directly with the Health Education Sections in all MOH Directorates and Hospitals across the Sultanate, supplied the awareness lectures and materials for the outreach plan, distributed banners and stickers to all health centers and polyclinics to enhance the community awareness and following-up continually the existing activities in this field. Furthermore, a team from Department is visiting the Governorates to view their needs for the awareness-raising activities.

It worth mentioning that the Department of Health Education & Awareness Programs has designed the self-examination form to be used by the arrivals in the points of entry.

With the registration of the first two cases of corona virus linked to travel in the country, the department distributed the necessary instructions for quarantine and isolation in all entry points and health institutions.  Furthermore, the department of Health Education and Awareness Programs intensified its awareness messages on the media and social media sites in preparation for the pandemic and stressed the importance of the prevention and adoption of the proper methods to avoid infection and limit as much as possible its prevalence.

The health education team worked to broadcast its awareness messages and guidelines on the disease in TV and radio interviews to ensure that proper information and answers are provided to members of the community, confirming the full support of the Ministry of Health to maintain constant communication with the public through the media.  It further reaches the various embassies in order to inform their respective residents of the situation and all related developments and details to involve them in the educational process according to their different nationalities and languages. Noting that the countries’ ambassadors sent their messages to raise awareness of the seriousness of the phase and ensure the widest range of information and warning is reached to all nationalities residing in the Sultanate.

Efforts to follow up and approve the production of awareness materials before being officially broadcasted on social media have been increased. Moreover, awareness messages have been intensified focusing on warning against infection spreading, especially when the disease reached the country. Innovated methods were deployed in circulating the health information. The department also supported the office of the World Health Organization in the Sultanate by providing them with materials produced on the epidemic, which were reprinted with the organization's logo and circulated to its various offices.

The Health Education and Awareness Department also handed out the necessary instructions for quarantine and isolation, along with issuing guidance cards, and distributing them to all institutions and entry borders.  The department is continuing the production of educational materials as well as giving lectures to health and private institutions. It is further cooperating with embassies and ambassadors to spread awareness in their languages by referring to the approved awareness production of all MOH Health Directorates as well private sectors.   

Following the announcement of forming the Supreme Committee tasked with handling the developments resulting from the spread of  COVID-19, the department has become an important element in the committee’s media cell  as it supplies it with the scientific material, reviews what is being produced by the cell agents, and adopts its accuracy to ensure that the provided information is formed as intended. It also supplied the oil stations with the scientific materials to be used as streaming videos on stations’ screens.

The Health Education and Awareness Programs Department committed with the government communication plan to ensure the community is provided with the correct information and proper Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention and protection mechanism, with learning the essential steps to deal with infected cases to avoid prevalence.

The Ministry has made data and statistics accessible to all to ensure transparency allowing individuals to be part in the process of awareness, prevention and promoting a culture of adherence to instructions.  Updates are still ongoing; therefore, the department is seeking to convey them depending on the appropriate circumstance for each phase.