In predominantly francophone West Africa, AI.COMM has both responded rapidly to outbreaks, and has built long-term communications capacity. In Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, we have trained animal and human health workers on the use of USAID commodities for personal protection, decontamination and rapid testing… in Ghana, Benin, and Togo, we supported emergency communication activities in response to outbreaks of avian flu…and in DRC, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Togo we worked with local NGOs, the private sector and governments in designing communication prevention work plans.
In addition to animal and human health workers, AI.COMM also conducted capacity-building workshops with civil society groups to improve their ability to respond to outbreaks, and reached out to journalists and other print and broadcast news workers with media orientations. Throughout the region, social mobilization workshops were held at the national-level with all avian influenza partners, and activities were launched in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Benin. In Ghana and Ethiopia, AI.COMM has worked with local NGOs and the governments to bolster their pandemic planning capabilities, with an emphasis on the community- and district-levels. |
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