Tackling the infodemic using conversational insights – Case Study of UNICEF Response in MENA

Due to numerous socio-economic and cultural factors, the infodemic surrounding COVID-19 in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) hindered efforts towards curbing the spread of the disease which ultimately could have saved lives. International organizations such as UNICEF, WHO, and the International Commission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have all worked alongside local governments and stakeholders to ensure the public had access to accurate and reliable information about the efficacy of efficacy of vaccines and public health and social measures.
The case study at hand considers how conversational insights contributed to fighting the infodemic around COVID-19 in the MENA region. To this end, UNICEF Middle East and UNICEF MENA Regional Office is actively leveraging conversational data to combat the spread of vaccine misinformation, which ultimately helps the equitable distribution of vaccines and limits vaccine hesitancy. UNICEF is achieving this primarily through Talkwalker’s platform, which will be the main subject matter of this case study.
The platform is used to understand trends related to the vaccine. Conversational data enables to establish a shared sense of reality with communities, creating a consistent and relevant narrative with all members of the ‘trust chain’ to connect, engage and navigate with others. In a nutshell, conversational data lies at the foundation of enhanced relationships with stakeholders (in this case they are multiple and varied), which ultimately enables UNICEF in MENA to be more agile and aware of the circumstances in real time.
Conversational insights gives UNICEF the objective reality of what the community is concerned about concerning the vaccines, and it is anchored in the social listening approaches that UNICEF is scaling to inform the COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement response.
This document showcases practical examples of how conversational data informs decisions, including strategic partnerships with key stakeholders.

Source: UN Children’s Fund