Addressing the COVID-19 related stigma and discrimination: A fight against “infodemic” in Bangladesh

15, December 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving rapidly as an overwhelming burden on human health and health systems of many countries includes low resource settings like Bangladesh. The country is facing crisis and several challenges to manage confirmed and symptomatic cases with limited administrative and logistic support, inadequate governance and wide- spread panic and stigma throughout the country. As the number of persons with COVID-19 and death are increasing there is a potential of heightened mass panic, stress and discrimination in coming days which can be predicted from recent protests in different parts of the country, spread of rumors and falsehoods, non-scientific information, limitations in gov- ernance and growing discrimination towards certain group of population and professionals. As World Health Organiza- tion (WHO) speculated this trajectory of pandemic is uncertain, this emerging body of stigma and discrimination needs to be addressed by proper authorities, “infodemic” should be controlled by legal steps and mass awareness campaigns should be launched without further delays.