On May 14th, SeeChange launched the CommunityFirst COVID-19 Roadmap. The Roadmap is a three-step planning tool to support vulnerable and isolated communities to organize, prepare and respond to COVID-19. It is available in English, Inuktitut and Spanish.
This initiative is a collaboration between SeeChange Initiative and Ilisaqsivik Society in partnership with the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and the Latin American Association of Médecins Sans Frontières/Médicos Sin Fronteras.
Ilisaqsivik Society and SeeChange Initiative developed this Roadmap while supporting the Inuit community of Clyde River, Nunavut to organize and prepare its response to COVID19. Many people in Inuit communities are at high risk of developing serious COVID-19 disease because of overcrowded homes and high rates of diabetes and lung disease, including tuberculosis.
“The pandemic has clearly shown that communities are at the frontline of COVID-19. There is a lot of information out there but it can be hard, especially for isolated communities, to find information that is accurate and relevant to them. We built this Roadmap to address that."”
—Rachel Kiddell-Monroe
Executive Director, SeeChange Initiative
The Roadmap follows World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization guidelines on COVID-19. It showcases materials developed by and for communities, highlighting innovative community-led approaches.
The types of resources featured on the Roadmap range from: scripts from COVID-19 radio segments in Clyde River, to the agenda from the Tsimane community’s Emergency Committee meeting in Bolivia, to health promotion infographics from Madagascar.
“The Roadmap has been critical in helping us to create our Emergency Readiness Plan. The relevance of a hands-on tool that guides communities in preparing themselves and which links to practical and reliable resources cannot be overstated. We hope it helps other communities develop their own plans.”
—Malcolm Ranta
Executive Director, Ilisaqsivik
The website is designed to be used by community organizations or other leaders in the community. After forming a CommunityFirst COVID-19 Emergency Committee, the user downloads or prints out the Checklist, and uses it to track their progress as they go through the Roadmap. The Committee can use the Checklist to develop a Readiness Plan that is adapted to meet the needs of their community. See how the Clyde River CommunityFirst Committee used the Roadmap and Checklist to develop their plan here.
To date, the Roadmap has been accessed in 49 countries worldwide and in 13 Canadian provinces and territories.
Photos byRobert Kautuk Jose Luis Ramirez SeeChange Initiative
