Empowering Local Health Leaders: Bolivia and Paraguay's Model for Pandemic Preparedness

As the pandemic surged in Bolivia and Paraguay, misinformation was spreading like wildfire and reliable sources of information were scarce. Fear gripped the hearts and homes of people, both in remote areas without easy access to healthcare facilities and in marginalised neighbourhoods of urban areas.

It was in this challenging context that ECO (Enhanced and Equitable Coverage of COVID-19 Testing and Treatment), commenced its collaboration with local health champions and health centres in the Cochabamba district of Bolivia and the departments of Cordillera and Presidente Hayes in Paraguay.

This report comprehensively outlines the main lessons learnt from the experience of collaborating with community health leaders in Bolivia and Paraguay during the COVID-19 pandemic: i. Social solidarity is the key to resilience; ii. Using creative communication channels to get the message across; iii. Building upon indigenous values for pandemic preparedness; iv. Strengthening data systems in resource-constrained settings.

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