ReliefWeb

Awareness-raising and risk communications are a backbone of humanitarians’ COVID-19 response to ensure that people know the dangers of the disease, how to protect themselves, and what to do if they fall sick. These efforts are encompassing everything from drama skits to radio broadcasts.

Here is some of the work humanitarians are doing.

Drama skits and community meetings

In South Sudan, 88 per cent of the population lives in rural areas where digital connectivity is very poor, and 66 per cent of the population cannot read or write. UNICEF South Sudan has a network of about 2,500 mobilizers who are reaching out to communities in the country’s many different languages (there are 60 in total) to make sure everyone knows how to protect themselves. In Indonesia, the humanitarian community has partnered with the National Disaster Management Agency to set up a “Volunteer Desk” for COVID-19, mobilizing more than 24,000 volunteers across the country to raise awareness. It is also sharing daily updated information via WhatsApp.

In a camp in Syria’s Idlib province, volunteers used puppets to explain the risk of the virus to children. Risk of spread in the camps is high as so many people live in close proximity to one another, with inadequate access to clean water and soap. In Bangladesh aid agencies undertook hand washing demonstrations to raise awareness of prevention methods.

Read more on Exposure.