Skip to main content
CASE STUDY

Yangon, Myanmar: Uniting the public through risk communication

By March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had put thousands of workers out of work in Yangon and become a serious health threat. Authorities decided right away that a mass media campaign focused on behavior change would be key for preventing wider spread of the virus and avoiding drastic shutdown measures down the line.

Overview

Published: October 2020

Yangon, Myanmar is known for its architectural mix of colonial architecture alongside traditional pagodas covered in gold leaf and studded with jewels. Now, it is using an innovative media mix to raise awareness on COVID-19 and protect its citizens.

The People’s Health Foundation, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Sports, in April 2020 launched a mass media campaign to promote safe behaviour during the COVID-19 crisis and to increase solidarity with patients and medical staff. The “Let’s beat COVID-19 together” campaign ran for six weeks on TV, radio and on Facebook. The mass media campaign came together in a very short period of time, when the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis in Myanmar had become clear and Yangon was put under strict stay-at-home orders and a curfew.

Read the full case study: Yangon uses media mix to boost solidarity against COVID-19

Related

Harnessing pandemic-era policy to improve road safety

Cycling has always been popular in Cali, Colombia a mostly flat city with warm weather year-round, but the pandemic has brought bicyclists into the street like never before.

READ
Prioritizing food security and nutrition standards

The Partnership for Healthy Cities supported Freetown, Sierra Leone in developing targeted risk communication for specific urban audiences.

READ
Case studies

Explore our library of city case studies on topics from tobacco control to safe and active mobility.

EXPLORE