Brac provides Covid-19-related services in Satkhira

Brac has been providing Covid-19 related services to the people of Satkhira under its Community Fort in Resisting Covid-19 (CFRC) project, which is currently operational in 35 high-risk districts.

As part of this campaign, masks are being distributed free of cost across the district, alongside awareness messages about health, hygiene, and vaccination.

During a visit to the Ramerdanga area in Agardari union under the Sadar upazila on Thursday, this correspondent saw Brac healthcare workers and nurses going door-to-door and distributing masks and raising awareness of preventive measures, Covid-19 signs and symptoms. 

“We go around the village distributing masks and spreading various awareness messages. We put maximum emphasis on the proper use of masks to ward off the transmission,” said Nazma Khatun, a health worker from Brac’s Agardari union. 

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They also encourage the practice of washing hands with soap and water, maintaining coughing etiquette, social distancing and vaccine registration, and inform the public about misinformation and rumours surrounding Covid-19.

“Our staff are not sitting idle during the course of this deadly pandemic. In fact, they are working even harder than ever,” said Atiur Rahman, Brac Satkhira Sadar area manager (health, nutrition and population program).

Member of Brac’s community support team visiting a household for awareness campaign following their Community resilience initiative | Courtesy

“They are going door-to-door to deliver free masks as well as awareness messages about social distancing and proper hygiene rules. Besides, our hotspot mobilizers are working on raising awareness and reinforcing mask usage at various bazaars, junctions, bus stops and other points of congregation in the district,” he added.

Brac has taken an initiative to distribute 13 million masks across the country. As a part of that initiative, 700,000 people across the Satkhira district will get masks free of cost, he further said.

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Besides, Brac and partner organizations are assisting local government health offices with coronavirus vaccine registration and mobilization. Loudspeaker announcements alongside local TV awareness campaigns are also being rolled out to promote vaccination.

Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Dr Morseda Chowdhury, director of health, nutrition and population program (HNPP) at Brac, said: “The Delta variant is spreading far and wide. Daily reported deaths are breaking previous records. The under-equipped health system is stretched to its limit. 

“Brac’s community-level resilience-building work through the CFRC project in 35 districts, predominantly in the border areas, is progressing at full swing and starting to show results. We are also seeing a big uptick in people seeking telemedicine support through our healthcare networks, which indicates the demand for services from home,” she added.

This story has been published in partnership with Brac