As COVID-19 impacts the health and livelihoods of so many across the world, our Nicaraguan family is dealing with a particularly difficult situation that depends on a collective, community-driven response. Through our broad partnerships in rural Nicaragua, we are strategically positioned to respond to the emerging needs farming communities are facing during the pandemic. At a point when the number of confirmed cases is still low, and no concerted plan is being implemented to mitigate widespread contagion, we are distributing essential information, education materials, and supplies to protect rural children and families from COVID-19.

While countries worldwide have almost unanimously reacted with shelter-in-place orders, business closures, or at least bans on large gatherings. Nicaragua is on the other side of the spectrum. The country is mandating businesses stay open, attendance in school, and encouraging locals to travel and gather (1 2 3 4). The Ministry of Health is claiming there are no community contagion cases and is only defining potential cases as those having respiratory difficulties, only performing 10-20% of the recommended tests for the Coronavirus.

The World Health Organization has been communicating the need for a rapid response to mitigate the spread of the virus including the importance of keeping clean hands and surfaces. In mid-March, we began our campaign distributing essential materials like alcohol gel and soap to give communities the means to prevent the spread of the virus. During the visits, our team assessed how well-informed schools were about the spread of COVID-19. We found that the overwhelming majority had no information about the virus or measures to reduce its spread.  Myths and misinformation were spreading throughout the region due to the lack of official information.

Community members expressed fear and a strong desire to know more about what is happening and what they can do to protect themselves and their families. Several pointed out to their lack of access to clean water and to the high proportion of illiterate people in the communities who can’t read some of the materials being distributed in the country.

Amidst the outbreak, we understand that swift, community-driven action will protect lives, and we wanted to share with you the action steps we are taking to help combat COVID-19 in Nicaragua.  

Protecting the health and safety of our staff and partner communities:

Though all public schools must continue operating, we have paused our own education programs and workshops. All staff travel into Nicaragua has been canceled as well as any meetings or workshops that involved travel from communities to the cities and vice versa. All supply distribution is done using social distancing guidelines and protections.  

Slowing the spread of COVID-19 through collective behavioral change:

‍Our Manos Limpias, Comunidades Seguras campaign is designed with the particular needs of isolated farming communities. We are providing information and supplies at the school and community levels to combat misinformation and wield our community with the tools to ensure prevention and protection.  

Children are still required to attend school, so we are supplying schools in our 38 partner communities with materials for handwashing and for sanitizing spaces. Teachers and students are receiving training, education materials, and guidelines on handwashing and other measures that slow the spread of the disease.  

Educating on COVID:

Through our experience, we have learned that one of the best ways to spread information among illiterate populations is through local radio announcements. Communicating via radio allows us to also reach the parents of children in sharing how to best protect their families and communities.  

Closely monitoring the situation in each of our partner communities: 

‍We are ready to respond to any emergency that arises, and have already started receiving requests from families without food as day laborers cannot find work at this time. We are working on securing food to supply those families with the most need during this season. Your support can help us with this effort.  

Thanks to our dedicated team and committed supporters, Project Alianza is able to step in and fill the gap for neglected rural communities. Lacking a national plan to slow the spread of the virus, Nicaragua is in a particularly vulnerable situation during this global health crisis. We are so grateful to our supporters, especially the VoLo Foundation, the McNulty Foundation, and LogMeIn who funded our initial emergency COVID-19 response. If you would like to contribute to our continued COVID-19 impact reduction efforts in Nicaragua, you can give here.