The pandemic of coronavirus has become a major public health challenge for Pakistan therefore actions are being taken at all levels to ensure safety of people. In order to make more people cognizant about the disease especially the rural population, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund has started an awareness drive through which it shall share information about the virus in local languages including Sindhi, Baluchi and Pashto. The objective of the drive is to educate communities about coronavirus on priority basis to help them combat the disease in an effective manner.
PPAF’s unique initiative of sharing information in local languages will help thousands of people in the rural areas of Pakistan whose native language is not Urdu. Through this drive they will not only be able to better understand the implications of the disease but will also be equipped to protect themselves from this deadly disease. Information about the symptoms, precautions and treatment of coronavirus will be disseminated through different platforms. On field representatives of PPAF’s partner organizations in these areas will raise awareness amongst the communities through live demonstration. Apart from on field awareness sessions, information will be shared on PPAF’s official website and on all social media platforms as the safety and well-being of partner organizations and communities is one of the top priorities of PPAF. According to a report 63% of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas and most of the people do not have access to education, internet or smart devices thus their exposure is extremely limited. In order to make them aware about the situation it is important that the communication around the disease is simple and in native languages.
As one of the largest sources of pro-poor spending in the country, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund is the lead agency for poverty reduction in Pakistan. It embodies the spirit of public-private partnership to address the multi-dimensional issues of poverty with a view to achieving social and economic change. PPAF outreach extends throughout Pakistan as it has partnered with 130 organizations working in over 100,000 villages/settlements with more than 133,000 community organizations and 440,000 credit/common interest groups at the grassroots level in 137 districts.
