Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Behavioural Economics
COVID-19: Need for a Social Vaccine
What is a social vaccine?
A social vaccine is a metaphor for a series of social and behavioural measures that governments can use to raise public consciousness about unhealthy situations through social mobilisation
A social vaccine addresses barriers and facilitators of behaviour change, whether attitudinal, social, cultural, or economic.
Social Vaccine supplements information, education, and communication (IEC) with targeted social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) strategies.
Advantages of Social Vaccine achieved through Social Mobilization
Empowers populations to resist unhealthy practices
Increase resilience
Foster advocacy for change
Drive political will to take action in the interests of society
Hold governments accountable
Lessons from HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) Pandemic
HIV that causes AIDS is believed to have made the zoonotic jump from monkeys through chimpanzees to humans in Africa as early as the 1920s
However, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was detected in 1981 & was a pandemic by 1985.
Extent of Pandemic: From 1981 to 2018, around 74.9 million people worldwide were HIV-infected, and around 32.0 million died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Social vaccine helped “flatten the curve” till effective treatments were discovered that dramatically reduced mortality, viral loads and infection transmission.
How Social Vaccine was used in HIV/AIDS pandemic?
There were widespread information campaigns stating that infection occurred predominantly through sexual transmission and intravenous drug use.
IEC and SBCC activities targeted (and partnered) individuals, community networks, leaders, social & health systems to change attitudes and behaviours.
The core preventive messages involved
Being faithful to one sexual partner
100% condom use during sexual intercourse outside stable relationships
Resisting peer-pressure for risky behaviours like intravenous drug use
Religious and community leaders were key change agents
For example, the Catholic Church in Uganda did not initially support promoting condoms since its use prevents life.
However, later they acknowledged that their religion did not preclude the use of condoms to prevent deaths – which was an important turning point
How Social Vaccine can be adapted for current pandemic?
Effective IEC and SBCC strategies should contain the persuasive messages of
Maintaining physical distancing in social situations
Wearing cloth masks in public by 100% of people (and 100% of the time)
Regular disinfection of oneself and one’s surroundings.
Leading by Example: People are more likely to practise these behaviours if all leaders promote them publicly and consistently
Proper information, support, and materials should be made available and accessible.
Re-purposing and funding relevant industries and small and medium businesses to produce materials such as PPE, hand sanitisers and medical equipment
Challenges Ahead
The components of the social vaccine should be in place before relaxing or lifting the lockdown.
A social vaccine also requires people to hold leaders accountable to
Invest in rapidly scaling-up testing
Meet the basic and economic needs of vulnerable sections
Providing psychological support where needed
Not communalising or politicising the pandemic
Not compromising the privacy and dignity of infected individuals and their families in the interest of public health
Connecting the dots:
Persuasive VS Coercive methods – which is better suited for India? And why?
Nudge Economics – Example: Give It Up Campaign, Swachh Bharat Mission
