BNNRC has been mobilizing all community radios for broadcasting awareness building programs on COVID-19: to protect lives and livelihoods since March 1, 2020

BNNRC has been working on COVID -19 covering with the following issues: 1. Animate CSOs, Government, health service providers and communities for reinforcing collective action in pre and during COVID-19, 2. Response for achieving keeping community people’s daily life normal and livelihood functional, 3. Mobilize further cooperation among government, CSOs, local market and communities’ response.

From 1st June, 2020 BNNRC has developed Adaptation plan to help to look at the response through an equity lens, focus on people’s enhanced capabilities & follow a coherent multidimensional approach for achieving of the four specific objectives below:

-Enhance the capabilities of affected communities through an equity lens.
-Focus on enhanced capabilities of Broadcasters and Stakeholders for exercising new normal
-Accelerate of ICT applications for benefitting community people in all aspects of life
-Effective public access to reliable and timely information through ICT and media for countering infodemic

The panic among the community people has been reduced gradually and people are taking precautionary measures to prevent contamination. Community peoples are making phone calls, sending SMS and using ICT during the live broadcasting. They are maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, hand washing and avoiding all gatherings.

https://bnnrc.net/covid-19-education-through-community-radio-in-bangladesh/

• Bangladesh

This is absolutely a community based on-demand project with a common issue. The project has been addressing the problem successfully by animating all stakeholders of the society. So, the project is replicable all over the world and where radio weave and Social Media (SM) is available.

The project activities can be run by the train-up community broadcasters. Hence, the radio broadcasters and Social Media users need capacity building training to upgrade their skills so that they can run the program locally without any technical support.

COVID -19 pandemic is a global concern. The project addresses COVID -19 threats locally by engaging the community and stakeholders so the project will sustain in any part of the world where there is a community and the threat exists.

The community aware about the scientific explanation of COVID–19 situations, precautionary steps, and available services to prevent COVID. Around 1000 Broadcasters developed their capacity to develop and Broadcast programs through using ICT. Coordinated and combined effort reduced the risks and impact of this unprecedented crisis. Thus, community radios are playing a vital role in building the awareness of the rural communities as it becomes one of the popular and reliable media to the rural communities and able to continue the program with their own efforts.

Through this intervention, WSIS values in Bangladeshi communities is strongly adhered and promoted extensively. This is done through increasing community awareness specially for taking appropriate actions and preventive measures to prevent pandemic or any disaster collectively.