COVID-19 > World Vision's global response

"COVID-19 Response in Brazil" project enables health care to 272 riverside families in Manaus

Residents of communities located in the rural area of Manaus, received health care between December 1 and 4, during the third river trip of the project COVID-19 Response in Brazil, carried out by World Vision Brazil and funded by the Office of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In this action, 272 families benefited from the delivery of 565 personal hygiene and disinfection kits, 21 gel alcohol totems and 91 medical appointments.

Health care activities in response to the emergence of the coronavirus, one of the fronts of the Project, are of great importance for the riverside population in Amazonas, which already suffers from the distance from the capital and the consequent difficulty in accessing basic health services, even most affected in the pandemic. To make service possible, World Vision uses the structure of Solidarity Ship, an ambulatory boat maintained in partnership with the Presbyterian Church and which has been in operation for over 10 years. In 2020, all trips made by the ship were in response to the emergency of COVID-19.

Helping those most in need

When it reaches the communities, the health team mobilizes for care, prioritizing emergency cases. Residents undergo screening, measuring blood pressure and blood glucose, measuring temperature and weight, and then go to the appointment with doctor, who in addition to treating each case with attention, also provide guidance on daily health care for prevent disease.

Edgar, 36, resident in the Bela Vista community, was one of those who benefited of the opportunity and convenience that the Project brings. “I received excellent quality medical care. Here we are a little forgotten, so I was very happy to have been seen in my community, without having to leave here to go to Manaus to get an appointment ”, he comments. He says that, because of the pandemic, it became even more difficult to receive medical assistance, as the trips, which were monthly, were canceled. Besides him, his two children, Douglas, 10, and Gabriela, 13, benefited from the service.

Another assisted family was Cintia’s, a housewife who lives in São Francisco do Igarapé do Chita. She took her three children, João Miguel, 3, Jonas, 29, and Abraão, 8, for medical appointment and describes how much the action made a difference for them. “It is very important to receive health care. We feel assisted, since those who are not always able to go to the doctor when the municipality service comes to the community”, she reinforces.

The COVID-19 Response in Brazil project offers a complete service to promote the prevention of coronavirus, including lectures, workshops and donation of personal hygiene kits and home disinfection. For the doctor Camila Maia, a professional who was on this last trip of Solidarity Ship, these material resources make a difference for the riverside communities. “The fact that we can guide patients on preventive and detachment measures and bring the kits helps a lot, as many people would not be able to buy them, due to reduced income. The hygiene kit allows them to comply with the recommendation we are going through”, she says.

The completeness of the actions to support the population, the responsibility and seriousness of World Vision's work are the aspects that the project manager, Angela Karinne Mota, is most proud of. “It is a project that involves education, awareness and transformation with the material provision and the necessary guidelines so that these populations can have all the possible preventive apparatus against COVID-19. So, we are dealing with a complete action to revert the situation of vulnerability in this period of pandemic.”

In the three days of activities, 91 people had gone through health - 59 adults and 32 children and adolescents. 305 nursing procedures were also performed and 202 medications were donated. So far, 150 medical consultations, 404 nursing procedures, 31 blood glucose tests, 14 dental consultations, 50 dental procedures and 402 medicines have been delivered.

About the COVID-19 Response in Brazil project

With an initial duration of six months, the actions of the Response to COVID-19 project in Brazil include training, distribution of hygiene and cleaning kits and mobilization of urban and riverside territories in the municipalities of Manaus, Manacapuru and Novo Airão, in addition to attention actions health and medical and dental care on board the hospital boat.

The goal is to reach more than 76 thousand people in 21 territories in the three municipalities. The accumulated balance of activities, to date, totals 3,019 disinfection kits and 3,019 personal hygiene kits and 417 gel totems for small businesses delivered.

• WV Brazil COVID-19 response update Jan 2021 (PDF)
  

For our latest global response update - see the attached report!

When news of a new virus hit the headlines of the world, 30-year-old Eunice’s medical intuition kicked in. She sensed in her spirit, that it would be only a matter of time before the contagious virus arrived in Kenya, given the speed at which it was spreading across the globe. Since 2016 when she joined the Muusini dispensary in Machakos County, as Hospital Charge, her major role has been to work with the community to help treat and prevent the spread of diseases within Mwala Community.

True to what she feared most, Kenya recorded its first COVID-19 case and 6 months later the county is looking at a catastrophe with tens of thousands of confirmed cases, mainly spread by community infections. Eunice notes, “Mwala is only 2 hours’ drive from Nairobi City which is the epicenter of coronavirus and what the commu-nity needed most is proper knowledge and information on how to protect themselves from the virus as we all work to deal with this pandemic. That is exactly what World Vision provided to us.”

Given the potential for increased spread of coronavirus, World Vision initiated an emergency preparedness and response plan for COVID-19 for all the area programs in Kenya, including the Mwala Community. The response plan promotes preventive measures through awareness education and promot-ing good family and community hygiene and sanitation behaviors, all in collaboration with the ministry of health and the county governments.

Eunice confirmed that the COVID-19 response plan has greatly con-tributed towards stopping or slowing the spread of coronavirus amongst households in Mwala. She says, “What World Vision did, was a partnership between Ministry of Health, Church Leaders and Local Administration on the ground to scale up prevention measures as well as teach communities how to deal with child protection issues, now that children are at home.” World Vision vehicles were branded with COVID-19 safety information and fitted with public address systems to reach over 43,000 with the safety message.

Margaret, World Vision Kenya staff member, noted that during this time of the pandemic, the Mwala community has benefited from World Vision’s long-term water investment through the construction of Kangondi Water Project in the community. The water project supplies clean and portable water to almost all households including the Muusini Dispen-sary, providing the much-needed relief in the pandemic. Eunice notes, “I do not want to imagine what the community would do at this time without water. To fight this pandemic, access to water is key and I am glad World Vision did that long-term investment in this community many years ago.”

Eunice cannot hide her joy for what World Vision has done to make her work easier as she points to a hand washing facility with liquid soap, personal protective equipment and disinfectants that they use at the hos-pital. She says, “World Vision is helping us meet our target in providing good outpatient services to the community of Mwala. Now everyone in this community knows the importance of wearing a mask, hand washing and keeping social distance. What a gift to have World Vision in the community as a development partner.”

• Report - 6-month global response (PDF)