ABSTRACT
This article unveils existing gaps in the use of digital technologies and local languages in the context of official COVID-19 pandemic communication strategies in Uganda. It entails an analysis of a purposively drawn sample of official COVID-19 communication from the Ministry of Health through its website, notably in English and translations into few native Ugandan languages, to argue for the need for a more diverse and inclusive language strategy in pandemic containment and prevention communication strategy. Interviews were also held with a convenient sample of Ugandans from diverse ethnolinguistic and socio-demographic backgrounds to explore the way in which social distancing, a dominant strategy used in COVID-19 infection prevention control was understood by sections of the population and factors influencing their understanding, acceptance or rejection of this strategy. Discursive thematic analysis was employed to examine the ways in which important public health information and strategies aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19 are communicated to the culturally and linguistically diverse Ugandan population. The study critically analyses the implications of the cultural interpretations and multiple meanings of strategies such as social distancing and the use of sanitizers amongst a linguistically and socio-economically diverse population. The study argues that local languages, including specialist languages such as braille and sign language play a pivotal role in spreading information and raising awareness about the current global pandemic. It highlights the need to create an inclusive, responsible and ethical mass media and internet communication and content in local Ugandan languages in addition to English which is the official language. © 2022, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.