Awareness of the various risks associated with COVID-19 is rising among these communities.
Stanley Karamira, who is a health worker, attributes much of that success to the Humanitarian Buffer, which airs messaging on radio talk shows that feature district leaders, church leaders and prominent members of the community. “We also have many posters in local languages plastered across the settlement,” he says.
Proximity and ease of access is also key. “We opened 16 vaccination sites in one settlement so everyone can reach a site by walking on foot,” says public health officer Geoffrey Ochan. “We also formed a mobile team to vaccinate in hotspots like markets. This way, it takes people minutes instead of hours to receive their vaccination, and they don’t have to choose between a day earning money or sitting on a bus.”