North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response since the pandemic reached Australian shores in early 2020.
The science says that a substantial proportion of the world’s population needs to be vaccinated before we can contemplate herd immunity against COVID-19. To achieve this, clear communication to all communities, including to those who speak languages other than English, needs to be vastly improved.
NWMPHN has kept this awareness at the centre of our work, ensuring we are developing clear, timely and accessible communication for our communities.
NWMPHN is pleased to launch a new series of vaccination videos in 20 languages. The “Goodbye COVID” videos feature more than 60 volunteers from culturally and linguistically diverse communities speaking in their own language on why they’re getting vaccinated.
NWMPHN CEO Adjunct Associate Professor Christopher Carter said that by providing people with access to reliable information in their first language, these videos will boost the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among multicultural communities.
“We understand that it can be frightening and intimidating for people experiencing a pandemic in a country that doesn’t speak their language, especially when they are being bombarded with information that may be false or conflicting,” A/Prof Carter said.
Producing videos in many different languages is difficult, but it needs to be done. And it’s not just about simple translations. People from culturally diverse backgrounds must have access to clear information in their own language.
“We cannot beat the pandemic if we are divided,” A/Prof Carter said. “When enough people from all walks of life are vaccinated against COVID-19, life will be better for everyone.”
The 20 videos are available in a range of languages including Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin and Vietnamese, all key community languages in Melbourne’s inner, northern and western suburbs.
The communities that speak these languages are also those that have been most severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Australia.
The Goodbye COVID videos add to NWMPHN’s considerable library of COVID-19 messaging in many languages. NWMPHN’s “Stay Safe” videos were seen by more than 600,000 people in 2020. More recently, NWMPHN worked with the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health to produce multilingual videos on the importance of looking after our mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic.
NWMPHN aims to reach 1 million people in Melbourne with the Goodbye Covid videos.
The videos are available at nwmphn.org.au/GoodbyeCovid
For all enquiries:
Mary-Anne Toy
Director, Strategic Relations
NWMPHN
T: (03) 9347 1188
M: 0438 356 312
E: mary-anne.toy@nwmphn.org.au
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