‘Corona-resilient villages’ can help contain the virus
Turning communities and villages across the country into "Coronavirus-Resilient Villages" can significantly reduce the risk of infection, speakers said at an online discussion yesterday.
The Hunger Project organised the webinar where it shared experiences from its initiatives undertaken last April that can help create these "Coronavirus-Resilient Villages", said a press release from the organisation.
Moderating the discussion, Badiul Alam Majumdar, The Hunger Project's global vice-president and Bangladesh chapter country director, said health risk during the pandemic can be mitigated in two ways.
One is by improving health services and the other is by building awareness among people and changing their daily habits, he said, mentioning that the latter is the key to containing the virus in Bangladesh.
Since April last year, volunteers of the organisation have been implementing various programmes in four steps, Badiul said.
They start working by forming community mobilisation committees and then undertaking steps to build awareness and changing people's behaviour, he said.
Later, they assist infected persons to get treatment and also provide financial support to those in need, he added.
Currently, the initiative is being implemented in 1,200 villages, according to the press release.
Addressing the discussion, former adviser to World Health Organization (WHO) Prof Muzaherul Huq said the global health body has been emphasising community engagement and awareness building since the preliminary stages of the pandemic.
What The Hunger Project is doing through community engagement is an ideal initiative, he said, stressing that it could be a pioneering initiative in the future.
Public health expert Abu Jamil Faisel said it is important to consider how the initiative could be implemented in urban areas.
Among others, Mahmudur Rahman, former director of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), and WHO consultant Taufique Joardar spoke at the event.
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