Victor Lacken, Belarus
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the IFRC’s pandemic preparedness and response programme has been the diversity of the strategies used by National Societies around the world. From soup kitchens in Serbia to barazas (or public gatherings) in Kenya, National Societies have been adapting the IFRC’s key pandemic-related messages and applying them to their own unique situations.
The Belarus Red Cross is a case in point. When you catch an intercity train from Minsk to Vitebsk, it is hard to avoid the message that when it comes to pandemics, your best defence is you. Uniquely, Belarus has an entire Red Cross branch run by and for the railway. One of the branch’s main goals is to prevent the spread of disease among passengers and staff.
Your best defence is you
“The railway branch basically echoes the same mission of the Red Cross network throughout Belarus. By working with the railway, we can reach people all over the country,” says the IFRC’s Alexandra Makarova in Belarus.
And working with the railway means the Red Cross pandemic influenza messages are ubiquitous. In Minsk, there are a number of large TV screens around the railway station that repeat the Russian-language version of the Federation’s video to teach people about how to stay safe from pandemic influenza. And the only posters you’re likely to see on the walls are the ones put there by the Red Cross explaining the five ways to better pandemic protection.
And to really reinforce the message, once you step on the train there are pandemic preparedness and response messages everywhere. You may, for example, find a preparedness and response bookmark on the table by your seat or see the same 30-second video playing on the TV screen above your head. You may even hear an announcement from the conductor about pandemic influenza over the train’s tannoy.
Railway medical staff prepare the information and the Red Cross prints the leaflets and bookmarks which are distributed on trains.
A shift in focus
Belarus Red Cross launched its pandemic preparedness and response programme in November 2009 with a big media push, initially rolling out in eight pilot districts across Belarus. As the H1N1 threat grew, the focus shifted from pandemic preparedness to pandemic response and the geographical reach of the project was expanded to cover the whole country.
The five basic measures listed in the Your best defence is you campaign for influenza prevention – cover your mouth, wash your hands, avoid crowds, separate your sick and dispose of waste – became the key messages of the IFRC’s human pandemic preparedness, or H2P, project.
“They are simple to read, understand and apply,” says Alexandra. “We try to focus on the things every person can do and the steps they can take to protect themselves during an outbreak of influenza.”
When the project was launched, there was a strong emphasis on tackling the problem head-on and talking about it openly. It was understood that the ministry of health would be more concerned with the treatment and drugs aspect of any crisis, whilst the Red Cross’s role would focus primarily on information campaigns to raise awareness of the threat and how to mitigate it.
“People start to understand that their health is in their own hands,” says Alexandra. “It doesn’t take long and it doesn’t cost much to wash their hands and cover their mouths. This applies not only to influenza, but to other infectious diseases as well.”
Targeting vulnerable groups
As the homeless people of Vitebsk begin to arrive at a temporary health clinic to have a shower, collect a food parcel and get a free TB scan, the Red Cross is there to talk to them about the risks they face from an influenza pandemic. They receive information about how they can take steps to protect themselves. Following this advice is not only beneficial in the case of a pandemic, but it also reduces their risk of contracting tuberculosis.
The Red Cross in Belarus has plenty of experience of dealing with vulnerable people from all walks of life and it is using the contact it has made with these people over the years to raise awareness. Victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, often in poor health, are counselled by psychologists who take the opportunity to explain the basics of disease transmission and prevention.
Similarly, drug addicts who arrive at a Red Cross drop-in clinic where a needle exchange programme operates, not only pick up clean needles and condoms, but also information about pandemic influenza. Educating about pandemic influenza has become part of the package.
With an extended network of 18,000 volunteers throughout Belarus, the Red Cross knows it can mobilize its resources quickly should the need arise. The structure of the volunteer network is national and it has the ability to quickly reach people in all sections and levels of society. Its large pool of regular volunteers and new recruits means that the risk of its volunteers falling ill at the same time is reduced.
“This project has made the nation more prepared for any sort of pandemic disease, be it H1N1 or anything else,” says Alexandra. “It has shifted the mindset of people from receiving to giving, in terms of their personal responsibility for their own health.”