Dr Somrita Ganchoudhuri, PhD, NUS
COVID-19, a novel disease, that came into existence in December, 2019, and became a household topic of discussion by January has pushed us into an uncharted territory. Around the globe, scientists, political leaders, policy makers, and common people are trying to grapple with the intrusion of COVID-19 in our lives. Today, this disease has blanketed most of the world.
Majority of the countries has been under lockdown forone month or more and now we are seeing attempt to relax few of the rules and restrictions.
People are slowly learning to accept this new normal and it is also becoming well known that we would have to accept this new normal of social distancing and mask wearing as our everyday lived experiences till its vaccine is ready or treatment is available. And to deal with this new normal, along with many organizations, according to me, a health communications scholar and practitioner, NGOs are going to play a vital role. Traditionally, NGOs have played a pivotal role in health advocacy. NGOs bridge the gap between government’s healthcare services and the community members. They are often considered efficient due to their flexible planning and strong presence in the community often resulting in personal relationship with the community members.
While trying to wrap my head around the overflow of information on digital media and contemplating about the health crisis and its possible solutions, I called my friend Abou Mere, the director of Kripa Foundation. The Foundation’s work was quintessential in raising awareness on HIV/AIDS throughout Nagaland since 1990 along with other organizations. In Nagaland the NGOs did tremendous work in raising awareness and providing health services even before the Government of India had structured programmes, namely National AIDS Control Programme, in place or national guidelines to tackle this problem. He too highlighted what lies ahead after the lockdown that has been going on in India and how civil society needs to be prepared for COVID-19. My research experience on health communications for the past few years resonates with his thinking. It is important to get prepared for the upcoming situation and analyze the underlying problems so that once lockdown is over NGOs are supplied with necessary resources to raise awareness among the community and be able to provide with the services that are required to deal with this new life – a life with COVID-19. Civil society has a bigger role to play once the relaxation starts. With the circulation of messages on digital media, today almost everyone has access to information along with fake news. However, it is important to understand spread of disease doesn’t necessarily happens due to lack of information, there lies the interplay of structural resources and agency. NGOs also provide platforms for communities to discuss their concerns which can be further communicated to the government to look for possible situations. NGOs have always acted as agents to reduce communication gaps between the government and the communities. It is also important to equip them with qualified counsellors or train the existent counsellor to provide quality counselling to those who are COVID-19 positive, in quarantine, and isolation. Preparedness of the NGOs seems to be the need of the hour.
Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Abou Mere for many hours of insightful conversations.
