2. Promoting and supporting
is fuelled by political and economic interests that benefit from information disarray. Therefore, effective strategies to promote access to information and to produce and verify that information in the Global South must begin by recognising the centrality of communities. Science must stand with the people. This requires public policy that invests in scientific and media literacy, strengthens local knowledge production networks, and values traditional knowledge, which is often delegitimised by conventional science. Communication must use accessible language, be culturally relevant and be delivered in multiple formats – community radio, podcasts, booklets, social media and so on – that genuinely engage with local realities. A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN APPROACH Latin American experiences in facing Covid-19 demonstrated the strength of public health systems, such as Brazil’s public health system (SUS) and localised solidarity networks. Brazil’s use of community health agents offers a model for how information can circulate ethically, sensitively and in a decentralised manner, according to the needs of the people. These practices are valuable lessons for the world: we fight disinformation not only with technology, but also with bonds, trust and social participation. In 2023, the Brazilian government established the Committee for Combating Disinformation about the National Immunisation Programme and Public Health Policies. This committee includes the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic; the Office of the Attorney General; the Office of the Comptroller General; the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation; the Ministry of Justice and Public Security; and the Ministry of Health. This was Brazil’s first experience of interministerial integration. Collaboration focused on five actions: 1. Supporting the Ministry
strategies to defend the PNI and public health policies against disinformation;
3. Forwarding to competent authorities any information regarding disinformation related to the PNI; 4. Assisting in gathering evidence to support legal measures against disinformation about the PNI, as well as proposing research and monitoring actions on public debate in digital spaces;
5. Proposing technical and
methodological resources for creating public policies to combat disinformation about the PNI and other public health policies.
The Ministry of Health also launched Saúde com Ciência (Health with Science) in 2023, with the slogan: ‘Protect your health. Don’t share disinformation’. Using an integrated approach, Saúde com Ciência and the Committee to Combat Disinformation established five action pillars: strategic communication; training and capacity building; institutional cooperation; monitoring, analysis and research; and accountability. The first pillar aims to create communication channels targeted at specific audiences, to deliver more focused content using widely known public figures, community radio stations and communicators from marginalised communities. The second pillar focuses on training professionals from both formal and informal media to analyse scientific texts and actively combat disinformation. The third pillar involves the establishment of public-private partnerships and collaboration with civil society to analyse and disseminate information with integrity. The fourth pillar involves the analysis of relevant sources and the establishment of agreements for scientific research on disinformation. The fifth pillar is dedicated to the legal investigation and accountability of individuals and companies that have spread disinformation constituting crimes against public health.
ETHEL LEONOR MACIEL Ethel Leonor Maciel is an epidemi- ologist, nurse and full professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo, where she has served as vice- rector and rector. She was secretary of health and environmental surveil- lance at Brazil’s Ministry of Health from 2023 to 2025. An infectious disease specialist with a focus on tuberculosis, she chairs the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on tuberculosis (STAG-TB) and consults for the Pan American Health Organization’s Strategic Group for Disease Elimina- tion Initiative in the Americas region. She is COP30’s special envoy for the health sector.
Ultimately, combating disinformation in the Global South is about recognising that knowledge production must serve life. We need open, democratic science committed to equity. Information with integrity saves lives – and health with science must be for everyone, especially those who have historically been left behind. ▪
of Health in analysing and evaluating communication strategies regarding the National Immunisation Programme (PNI) and public health policies;
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