BRAC and Unilever are working together to help prevent transmission of coronavirus in Bangladesh. At the initial phase, they are going door-to-door to build community awareness and distributing sachets of pocket hand wash to 500 thousand people living in poverty across the country within one week.
The BRAC-Unilever public awareness and behavioural change activation, started on Sunday (March 22), is covering people in 43 districts, eight municipalities and 12 city corporations, including Dhaka North and South at the first phase, says a press release.
The two organisations are also working together to increase public awareness about maintaining personal hygiene, social distancing and respiratory etiquette essential to limit transmission of the virus.
Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC, said that BRAC has extensive experience of working in crisis situation. “We are actively pursuing partnership opportunities with and are eager to make fruitful collaboration with individuals and institutions from the public, private, and development sector,” he said.
MD & CEO of Unilever Bangladesh Kedar Lele said, that Unilever and BRAC’s partnership aims to reach the most vulnerable communities in Bangladesh and help them adopt healthy behaviour to prevent the spread of the virus. “It is time for us to work together in a disciplined manner,” he said.
BRAC & Unilever Bangladesh, are implementing a mass awareness campaign through its social media channels, frontline health workers and other mediums. BRAC has mobilised 50 thousand frontline health workers who have been joined with frontline workers from all its other development programmes, including Urban Development Programme, Ultra Poor Graduation, Microfinance and Climate Change Programme, to run an emergency mass awareness campaign. Initially, the organization aims to reach 5 million people across the country within the first week of April with messages to prevent Novel Coronavirus infection.
