Report: Empowering Malawian communities to protect their vulnerable against Covid-19 and its effects
Publication
15 January 2021
Information will save more lives than medicine in the fight against Coronavirus in Malawi. Communities want information about Coronavirus and once they have it they want to know what they can do to protect themselves, their families and their neighbours. They are ready and waiting to engage. In the absence of this engagement, there is increased risk of stigmatization of the sick and outsiders, anger towards duty-bearers and of misinformation causing further anxiety.
This report, by Community Engagement Specialist Evin Joyce, documents Covid-sensitive community engagement activities tested and developed in Mwambo Chiefdom, Zomba, Malawi, during the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020. The report, funded by the Embassy of Ireland and private donations, aims to inform the design and implementation of large scale, low-cost community empowerment and feedback mechanisms to tackle the spread of Covid-19 during the second wave in 2021.
Beyond responding to the Covid-crisis, the report finds that community engagement activities can also be applied to help Malawian communities protect their vulnerable and to better understand other unmet needs in poor, rural communities.
Download the Report here:
Empowering Malawian communities to protect their vulnerable against Covid-19 and its effects