Building sustainable influenza communication capacity, Report of an informal workshop, Bali, Indonesia, 19-22 August 2014

Abstract

An informal workshop to build communications capacity on influenza in the WHO South-East Asia Region was held in Bali, Indonesia, on 1922 August 2014. This was part of a series of workshops at the global and regional levels as an initiative of the Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines.Participants at the meeting included programme managers for influenza and health workers, as well as risk communication experts and representatives from the media. The sessions included an overview of the influenza situation and challenges in influenza vaccination and the means to overcome them. Interactive sessions emphasized that changing perceptions can take time, and cannot be done with messages and posters alone. It is also important to listen to people and their concerns.