03/11/2020
With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mani Tese immediately took action to support the communities most in need and carry out prevention work in the countries of the South of the world where present.
Among these is Benin, a small West African country of about 10 million inhabitants where Mani Tese has been operating for more than 40 years.
Here you can read all the news relating to Mani Tese’s interventions for the Coronavirus Emergency in the South of the world: https://www.manitese.it/en/coronavirus-emergency-in-south-of-world.
The activities took place in particular in the municipalities of Natitingou and Toucountouna, in the north-west of the country, near the border with Burkina Faso. These two cities are characterized by great poverty and the population is very vulnerable to disease due to the lack of health facilities and poor hygiene conditions.
In this area, Covid-19 has found easy spread above all due to the absence of protective devices and means of screening and monitoring the virus, but also due to the lack of awareness on the part of the local population and the lack of information and measures containment suitable especially in meeting environments such as markets, mosques, churches, bus stations and bars.
Mani Tese therefore intervened to raise awareness among the local population and strengthen knowledge of the hygiene rules recommended for the prevention of Covid-19. Specifically, information, education and communication activities were carried out so that all precautionary measures were taken to limit the pandemic.
Various activities were carried out. First, information and explanations about symptoms, modes of transmission and ways to prevent Covid-19 were broadcast on the local radio in four local languages so that they were accessible and understandable by all.
Then training was carried out for the 100 managers of the organizations that manage local markets in 10 different locations on the behaviors to adopt to limit the spread of the virus. The trainings were supported by illustrative brochures and practical demonstrations about the behaviors to be adopted such as hand washing, use of a mask, intrapersonal distance.
In addition to these, market users (sellers, retailers and customers), who are mostly women, have also been sensitized. In this context, those of the users who did not have it available received a face protection mask and 10 hand washing devices were also donated so that all markets were provided with them.
Ten health facilities were also supplied with kits containing facial protection devices, hand washing devices and information brochures so that the awareness-raising action can continue thanks also to the health personnel at the end of the Mani Tese’s action.
Several health professionals, among other things, followed the course provided by the WHO to be more efficient in managing patients and identifying symptoms and 20 of them were provided with an internet subscription to be able to follow the course.
The beneficiaries of the activities also include 500 taxi and motorcycle taxi drivers, who come into contact with many people every day and who have therefore been trained about the pandemic and the importance of keeping a distance and using protective equipment. Before proceeding, however, they were asked to respond to a questionnaire to assess the degree of knowledge of the virus and the possibility of contagion and adjust the awareness activities accordingly.
Finally, 1,700 masks were distributed to the inhabitants of the municipalities of Natitingou and Toucountouna.
The activities ensured a good dissemination of information on preventive measures promoted by the health authorities; health personnel now have a better knowledge of the symptoms and management methods of health facilities and have a greater number of personal protective equipment such as masks available; in general, the population has increased knowledge about the pandemic and how to prevent the infection.
Below are the awareness brochures created and some photos of the distribution of hand washing kits and awareness raising activities among taxi drivers:
The activities described here are part of the “Information, education and communication for the prevention of COVID-19” project created thanks to funding from the 8xmille Funds of the Italian Catholic Church.
