Mobilizing Community Action And Health DataSystems To Combat Covid-19 In Botswana

TECHNICAL BRIEF

In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern and a pandemic. Botswana experienced local transmission of the disease, prompting the Government of Botswana, through the Ministry of Health, to develop a national deployment and vaccination plan for COVID-19. Recognizing the low vaccine uptake and the need for comprehensive community awareness, behavior change and increased demand for COVID-19 services, USAID in Botswana requested that Global Communities—which has been providing community led, comprehensive, integrated and layered HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services for vulnerable children, adolescents and young women in Botswana since 2016—collaborate with local organizations and the Botswana Ministry of Health to mobilize community action against COVID-19.