South Africa: Listen, Understand, Repeat - the Circular Approach to Good Communication in a Health Crisis

What the report says

An analysis published by The Conversation Africa and distributed by AllAfrica on 5 October 2026 examines how South Africa used social listening during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve health communication. The piece says the national Department of Health set up a Risk Communication and Community Engagement working group that monitored public discussion across social media, online news, WhatsApp streams, call centres and community channels to identify concerns, rumours and information gaps.

The article, written by Herkulaas Mve Combrink, draws on a review of 91 reports produced between 2021 and 2023. It says the reports recorded 964 instances of misinformation across 12 themes and 573 recommended actions across six themes. Recurring issues included COVID-19 claims, vaccine safety and side effects, trust in authorities, treatment questions and broader concerns about how health information was communicated.

The analysis argues that effective crisis communication should be circular rather than one-way: listen first, understand the concern, respond in a targeted way, and then keep listening. It highlights recommendations such as using local media, community sessions, trusted voices and appropriate channels instead of relying only on broad national messaging. The author cautions that the study did not test whether the recommendations were implemented or whether they changed public understanding, but says the approach may be relevant for future health emergencies and other public crises.