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Guidance note - Delivery of assistance to families in light of COVID-19 [EN/BN]

Countries
Bangladesh
+ 1 more
Sources
CCCM Cluster
+ 7 more
Publication date

Objective and approaches

During low community transmission phase of COVID-19, all suspected and confirmed cases will be treated in an isolation facility to mitigate the risk of infection transmission. In a high community transmission scenario, bed availability will be prioritized for severe cases and mild and moderately symptomatic individuals will be encouraged to self-isolate and receive care at home.1 Elderly persons (> 60 years) will also be encouraged to self-isolate, and refrain from leaving the shelter to reduce the risk of becoming infected.

To minimise movements outside of their shelters to access humanitarian assistance, partners will support the most vulnerable families through provision of home-based care services including delivery of NFI packages to their shelters. Partners involved in NFI home delivery should take all possible steps to protect their staff, volunteers, and affected population and to minimize the spread of the infection.

This guidance is based on WHO’s advices for infection prevention and control and other relevant global and local guidelines, and outlines basic protocols for all phases of a home-based NFI distribution, from planning to distribution to close out. Acknowledging the complex, challenging and fast-paced operating environment, partners are invited to adopt these recommendations to the extent possible.

The main underlying approaches are:

  • Adopt a Do-Not-Harm approach to minimize the risk of infection for staff members, volunteers, and camp residents;

  • Increasing overall awareness and hygiene levels for staff members and volunteers;

  • Adapt distribution protocols to eliminate close contact and reduce the potential spread of the infection.

The guidance provides recommendations for each phase of home delivery:

  • Stage 1: Planning home delivery (managers and supervisors)

  • Stage 2: Orienting staff members and volunteers (managers and supervisors)

  • Stage 3: At warehouse/office prior to home delivery (supervisors and staff members)

  • Stage 4: During home delivery (staff members and volunteers)

  • Stage 5: After home delivery (staff members and volunteers)

Some of the following recommendations, especially Stages 3, 4 and 5 may be further developed in form of IECs to facilitate the dissemination to staff members and volunteers, and/or further developed by different Sectors/agencies. This guidance should be used in combination with guidelines from other sectors developed globally and locally. It may be updated as the situation evolves globally and specifically in the Rohingya Response.