illuminAid's COVID-19 Initiative
For over a decade, illuminAid has been dedicated to using video technology to spread important life-changing messages to the world’s most disadvantaged populations. Our focus on behavioral change has allowed illuminAid to introduce and reinforce positive habits across a wide array of principles. One of the project types that illuminAid has become experts in is disease prevention and sanitation. The largest barrier to achieving better sanitation and disease prevention measures in underprivileged communities is generally a lack of communal knowledge. A quantitative study conducted by the CDC saw a 50% decrease in diarrheal and respiratory infections amongst families that received weekly handwashing promotion. These two types of diseases take the lives of 3.5 million children annually, yet they are easily prevented by implementing proper sanitation. It is scenarios like these in which illuminAid has found our work to have the most profound impact. Following in this vein, illuminAid was very active in fighting the deadly 2014 Ebola epidemic, working with several organizations across international borders to provide training and education to those most at risk.
In an effort to fight the Ebola epidemic, illuminAid facilitated a workshop in Conakry, Guinea in January of 2015 which was sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Guinea. At this Video Education Workshop, illuminAid trained 37 participants from 20 organizations including UNICEF, Save the Children and the U.S. Peace Corps. We brought 300lbs of equipment to Guinea, including 100 projector kits and 100 recharge kits. Attendees of the workshop were equipped to fight the Ebola epidemic by learning to produce videos discussing proper sanitation and disease prevention measures and by then disseminating this crucial information in their own communities. This wasn’t the only project illuminAid took part in during our fight against the Ebola epidemic.
Throughout the epidemic, Liberia was the hardest-hit country. Unfortunately, Liberia had 10,000 confirmed cases and nearly 5,000 casualties by the time Ebola had done its worst. In 2015, illuminAid partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia to train 37 Liberian aid workers from 31 different organizations on the topics of sanitation and disease prevention. Later, in 2016 illuminAid traveled back to Liberia and conducted another successful project aimed at improving health conditions and increasing disease prevention measures. For this operation, illuminAid partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) to train local staff and provided them with 30 camera, recharge, and projector kits. These projects in Liberia empowered the local population to fight the spread of Ebola in their country, and we are proud to have been of assistance to the Liberian people. Now our help is needed again.
The world is currently facing a COVID-19 pandemic of epic proportions. It’s one that has already heavily-obstructed developed countries; economies have come to a standstill and several health care systems are at risk of being overburdened. But how effectively will the world’s underdeveloped countries fight against COVID-19? While the virus has disrupted the lives of all of us in developed countries, it has the potential to be far more devastating than the 2014 Ebola outbreak in lesser developed countries. As of April 1, 2020, 49 of the 54 African countries have confirmed cases of COVID-19. Reports have suggested that Africa is incredibly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to weak health systems that can’t combat the spread of the virus and also due to disproportionately high rates of malnutrition and disease across the continent. Many rural communities across Africa lack access to clean water and are uninformed about proper sanitation techniques. For example, while it may seem obvious that washing one’s hands before preparing food is crucial in fighting disease, there are numerous communities that have never implemented such behaviors. Reports show that 2.5 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation and that positive sanitation measures that are second nature to us have never manifested in these communities. Establishing and reinforcing proper sanitation and disease prevention measures is crucial to stop the spread of COVID-19 in any region, but it is especially necessary for countries where misinformation is rampant and the government lacks the capacity to protect its citizens. This is where we can help.
As demonstrated above, illuminAid’s methods of preventing the spread of disease across the developing world have been proven to be effective on several previous occasions. Our help has been sought after by the CDC, WHO, the US Department of State, and a number of other prestigious institutions (see all our partners here). We feel that it is our duty to do what we do best, and help fight the spread of COVID-19 in lesser-developed countries. This is why illuminAid has started our COVID-19 Initiative; a fund that will help us continue our worldwide movement. illuminAid remains committed to using our expertise in disease-prevention to save lives in underprivileged regions of the world, and we would love your support in doing so. Please consider donating to the illuminAid COVID-19 Initiative here.
