BRAC
BRAC received a grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) COVID-19 Response Fund to provide support to the governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda in the prevention, prompt detection and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Sierra Leone, BRAC partnered with community stakeholders to select and train 150 community health promoters (CHPs) to participate in a COVID-19 awareness-raising campaign. They also worked to overcome misinformation about COVID-19 through mass provision of information, education and communication materials. CHPs distributed 6,500 flyers along with 2,000 COVID-19 posters illustrating proper hand-washing steps. Additionally, BRAC distributed 475 t-shirts and caps with COVID-19 messages to key government and community stakeholders, trainers, staff and volunteers.
In addition to disseminating information about the virus, BRAC’s communications efforts spotlighted the influential roles played by the CHPs and other community stakeholders. Initially, CHPs faced challenges with community acceptance. However, their work was ultimately instrumental in getting communities to embrace the importance of taking preventative measures against the coronavirus.
Check out this video created by BRAC to learn more about their work in Sierra Leone:
In total, BRAC distributed 25,000 face masks, 101 containers of liquid hand soap and 156 containers of hand sanitizers. It installed 300 hand-washing stations with fitted pedals to dispense soap and water. Overall, this project reached an estimated 608,197 people in 20 chiefdoms in Sierra Leone.
CDP is proud to support BRAC’s efforts to improve hygiene practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and increase awareness about causes, symptoms and effective response.
