Dubai’s communication strategy helped win COVID-19 battle

Sajila Saseendran | Senior Reporter

Winning a health crisis is not just the job of healthcare professionals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was proven once again that various entities from the government and private sectors play crucial roles in battling a pandemic.

While Dubai’s government entities joined forces with the private players and community volunteers in fighting the emirate’s first-ever health crisis, what kept the people rightly informed was the government’s communication strategy.

The role of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO) in disseminating correct and updated information to the community members played a major part in ensuring that different stakeholders dealing with the pandemic are on the same page and the public is aware of the latest guidelines and fake news that they shouldn’t be believing in.

In an exclusive interview, Alia Al Theeb, Senior Manager, Strategic Communication, Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), shared with Gulf News the strategic approach her office adopted in helping the emirate win the COVID-19 battle.

“At the onset of the pandemic, we at the Government of Dubai Media Office swung into action to combat the pandemic, in close coordination with other entities,” said Alia.

Bridge between government, people

Assuming the significant role of communicating information transparently and clearly to the public, the Media Office became a bridge between the government and the community, she said.

“Our efforts were aligned closely with local and federal plans and strategies,” said Alia, who was part of the media cell formed by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA).

She said everyone worked together to ensure every announcement and message was consistent with the broader national strategic framework to fight the pandemic.

“Ultimately, all our work was aimed at serving the best interest of the nation in this time of crisis.”

Clear strategy

She said her team was clear right from the start of the pandemic that they needed to communicate the gravity of the situation to the public.

“At the peak of this crisis, we had daily meetings and we had so many discussions,” she said.

All relevant stakeholders from across the emirates came together to find innovative ways to convey important messages to the community and ensure everyone was safe.

Several committees were also formed to oversee numerous aspects of the crisis.

“Some of the committees we worked with closely included the crisis committee tasked with ensuring rapid media responses and conducting targeted awareness campaigns.”

With rumours doing the rounds about a possible shortage of food and medicine due to the impact of the lockdowns, a food security committee was also formed.

Alia said it was tasked with assuring the community that essentials like food and medicine will always be available “in any and every situation. It was our responsibility to communicate vital messages to the community and raise public awareness on key issues and precautionary guidelines.”

Comprehensive campaigns

As protocols were updated and expanded, comprehensive media campaigns were also developed to clarify guidelines and circulate important information.

“Apart from ensuring the local audiences were well-informed, our campaigns also sought to keep regional and international audiences abreast of updated rules.”

Indeed, the government communication strategy took into account the vast diversity of nationalities and cultures in Dubai.

“We also ensured timely and accurate information was disseminated to the media across key platforms. Working closely with them, we sought to convey our messages to various segments of the community in a wide range of languages.”

Teamwork

Again, it was all teamwork that kept the communication channels open day and night to ensure there was no misinformation spreading in the community and everyone was kept updated about the latest rules, regulations and developments related to the pandemic.

“Many people may not realise that conveying information and messages is the work of a team, not just a single person or entity. Various entities came together to manage communication in close cooperation with the community, whose cooperation was vital to our success.”

Ultimately, Alia and the team are relieved that their efforts also added to Dubai’s success story in bringing the pandemic under control in an exceptional way.

“We have indeed made great strides in winning this fight against the pandemic. Dubai has demonstrated that it is always ready to face challenges. Its incredible resilience to challenges has been proven time and again. We in Dubai have truly lived the ideals of our leadership. That’s why we have emerged winners in this fight against the pandemic, she said.”