When COVID-19 arrived in Mali’s Bandiagara region, local leaders faced not just the threat of the disease, but also the spread of misinformation. “Some people were afraid, but most of them did not believe in the disease,” says Baba Napo. Bandiagara is beset by conflict and many people feel abandoned by their government, so distrust in the institutions issuing health guidelines was compounded by misinformation about the virus. Rumors circulated that the pandemic was a fabrication generated by the government to secure funding, or that it was a conspiracy by foreigners to target Africans. Few people were taking precautions.
Baba Napo is the President of Bandiagara’s Community Engagement Committee and a former president of the Local Youth Council. He believes in the power of youth to address misinformation and help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their communities.
USAID Peacebuilding Stabilization and Reconciliation (PSR) supported Baba and the Committee’s efforts to mobilize youth and community members in partnership with the District Health Center and the local COVID-19 commission. They worked together to spread credible information about COVID-19 and prevention in markets, bus stations, mosques, and churches. “Because of the high illiteracy rate, we conveyed messages verbally,” says Baba. “People needed to quickly be made aware of the fact that COVID-19 exists and is a dangerous disease.”
The youth volunteers also took temperatures, handed out hygiene kits, and distributed 1,000 disposable free masks made by two local tailors. The masks caught on, creating a new market for local tailors and improving the community’s ability to cope with COVID-19. One local tailor noted, “NGOs and the Malian government ordered over 5,000 reusable face masks each sold at 500 CFA [less than one dollar]. Other orders followed. Unlike other sectors, during the COVID-19 period, our turnover as tailors increased.”
USAID PSR strengthens communities’ ability to peacefully resolve conflicts and build social cohesion in northern and central Mali. With the onset of the pandemic, the program reached out to people, including the internally displaced, with sensitization campaigns about COVID-19 to address the risk that the disease would further exacerbate conflicts and set back progress towards peace. PSR also activated peer-to-peer messaging campaigns on radio and social media, supported poets and traditional communicators to engage communities through artistic expression, and facilitated a transition from in-person to online traditional meetups called “E-Grins” and “E-Tontines” reaching over 50,000 young people. Throughout these efforts, partners like Baba Napo have played key roles in advancing youth leadership.
Baba’s organizing work has an impact beyond fighting COVID-19 disinformation. “My hope is that young people remain engaged in local development and community issues, that they continue to play a leadership role,” he says. “But also, that our communities understand collective action as the only way forward to tackle issues that affect us.”
Photo credit: PSR