Grassroots women take a leadership role in Covid-19 vaccination awareness
“The negative mindset of people towards vaccination is now changing, and they are ready to take the vaccine. Other villages should also follow our methods of campaigning for greater success”, says Lalita Mali from Savargaon village in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra.
Grassroots women are taking a leadership role at the forefront of the Covid-19 recovery process, in an initiative supported by the National Stock Exchange Foundation and Swayam Shikshan Prayog. With the purpose of promoting Covid-19 vaccination in eight blocks of Osmanabad district, women leaders are mobilizing their communities to attend vaccination camps and clearing misconceptions about the vaccination process.
Lalita Mali was one of the women identified as a community leader for the Covid-19 vaccination drive. Due to her previous leadership role in community resilience programs and her trust amongst the communities, she was an ideal choice to lead this initiative at the local level. She was provided with information and training on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the benefits of vaccination by the Sakhi Task Force, facilitated by SSP.
Since various departments of the government are involved in the Covid-19 recovery efforts, Lalita had to coordinate with the Gram Panchayat, local ASHA workers, Primary Health Center staff and the village level ‘Covid Sahayata Samiti’ (a sub-committee of the Gram Panchayat), to get their support for the vaccination drive.
After identifying community members who were unvaccinated, Lalita carried out household visits and held meetings with Self Help Groups members to clear misconceptions about the Covid-19 vaccine and urge villagers to attend the vaccination camp at the PHC level. Additional support from the local health workers and Gram Panchayat led to greater confidence and belief in Lalita’s message of getting vaccinated.
With the support of SSP, Lalita and her team were able to successfully mobilize her community members to attend the various vaccination camps that were held at the Savargaon PHC. Through their efforts, 75% of the community members are now vaccinated. A huge success, this vaccination campaign was particularly notable for overcoming myths and other such misconceptions about the Covid-19 vaccine.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
20th October, 2021