Volunteers are taking to the streets, markets, and doors of their community to improve communication about COVID-19 in Angola’s capital of Luanda. At the beginning of June, over 90 volunteers had been trained on COVID-19 symptoms and transmission, biosafety measures and risk communications. The initiative is led by the Juvenile Association for the Support of Young People in Need (Jucarente) with support from World Health Organization (WHO), the Provincial Government of Luanda and the Angolan Network of Non-Governmental Organizations for the Fight against HIV/AIDS (ANASO). With a budget of around US $ 10 000, it aims to reach 10 000 families in six of the nine municipalities that comprise the capital where most positive cases have been identified. Volunteers are equipped with PPE and transportation to safely carry out their mission. Mobilization campaigns communicated via these volunteers are particularly important in communities where internet access and literacy rates are low. Volunteers can more easily reach these populations to extinguish rumors and mitigate potentially harmful information.
Read the full WHO/AFRO story on how Angolan volunteers serve their communities to fight COVID-19
Read more about WHO’s response to COVID-19