Our outreach teams in the camps and the neighbouring villages are working to share advice on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To avoid gathering people in groups, staff go house-to-house, speaking with individual family members. MSF teams are also working with community and religious leaders to help share health messages and organise tours of our isolation facilities to build trust with the communities.
4. Protecting frontline workers
Healthcare workers are on the frontline of the COVID-19 response. Without them, there is no way to combat this impending health crisis or to address other medical needs. But in Bangladesh, as elsewhere in the world, MSF is facing shortages of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) – masks, gowns, goggles and gloves.
“The limitations will determine our ability to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as our capacity to maintain ordinary medical activities,” says Muriel Boursier, MSF Head of Mission. “This uncertainty and having no guarantee that we’ll be able to keep our commitment to our patients, is a huge pressure on the team.”
While we have witnessed inspiring displays of solidarity with frontline workers across the world, we have also seen fear driving cruel behaviour. Bangladesh has not been exempt of these situations. Some of our staff have received verbal abuse or threats by communities fearful of COVID-19; others are facing eviction by landlords unwilling to house frontline staff.
Healthcare workers are most at risk of contracting COVID-19. MSF will not expose any of our staff to unnecessary risks of infection, but this lack of protective equipment will affect the work we can do. If healthcare workers feel unsafe or unsupported in their roles, there be serious impact on the response to COVID-19.