The group, therefore, weaved a one-on-one approach wherein girls and women in Uganda’s rural communities had conversations with the initiative’s volunteers and staff one at a time.
According to the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, COVID-19 is not just the century’s largest public health emergency, but also a communication crisis. The contagion has been marred with half-truths and lies with many people, falling victim.
This reality is what informed the decision by a group of mostly volunteer social justice enthusiasts who work in the grassroots areas, to educate the vulnerable population around the country.
The group, ‘Girl Up Initiative-Uganda’ has been working tirelessly to build youth-friendly, community-centric and innovative solutions to the complexities accompanying social-distancing and lockdown measures in Uganda.
“One of our main concerns is the rapid spread of harmful misinformation or the complete lack of access to reliable resources for information. This disproportionately affects vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations,” articulates Clare Tusingwire, the Director of Programs.
She says that in Africa, the communications crisis mostly impacts on girls and women more severely than it does to men. This is attributed to the gender digital divide present in most low and middle-income countries. Indeed, in Africa, the United Nations places the proportion of women using the internet at about 25% lower than the proportion of men.
“With an onslaught of information constantly being circulated without verification, people, mainly women, and girls are left in the dark, with many important questions unanswered,” Tusingwire added.
The group, therefore, weaved a one-on-one approach wherein girls and women in Uganda’s rural communities had conversations with the initiative’s volunteers and staff one at a time.
“Fighting the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 doesn’t require the use of sophisticated technologies. It requires empowering communities with accurate information, dispelling fears, and promoting togetherness.”
Important to note is that the initiative also used the very time to ensure that vulnerable populations received information, sexual and reproductive health services they require.
This practice has helped bridge the void in the communities as a key element of bringing about change. The response from the affected groups of people is encouraging. The community health drives are working and is well received from the grassroot people.
By CivSource Team