DownloadOn 13March 2020, the Gauteng Community Health Care Forum (the Forum) held a scheduled meeting of office bearers to discuss current Forum business. The meeting looked at the impact COVID-19 will have on CHWs, and within our communities. “People are going to die because of this virus. There is not enough education being done regarding this virus,” said Lillian Nhlapo, one of the organiser of the Forum.
On 14 March 2020, Khanya College decided to bring all its constituents that were supposed to be in separate training workshops to discuss in a broader meeting the coronavirus and how the working class must respond. “We engaged deliberately on the issue of COVID-19, because many of the CHWs have not done basic COVID-19 training, and at their various clinics in Gauteng they were not provided with protective equipment. We know as the Forum that the Department [of Health] had never provided protective gear even in the past when CHWs have been told to trace TB patients. With the way this coronavirus spreads, we need masks, gloves and sanitisers for protection,” said Nhlapo.
The campaign started at the 14 March meeting, where all activists present decided to mobilise to educate and raise awareness in all our communities regarding the coronavirus. Flyers were printed and distributed to all activists at the meeting so that they could distribute them across Gauteng. The flyer explained what coronavirus is, the symptoms, how to prevent the spread of virus, and what to do if you start to show symptoms.
Another set of flyers was also produced and distributed to activists in various communities that focused on the demands of CHWs, who are at the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
