HEALTH
Building Trust to Get Our Communities Vaccinated
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon face much higher mortality rates from COVID than the national average
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been severely affected by the cascading series of crises that have hit the country. The COVID-19 pandemic is but one of these calamities. With the aggressive spread of false information and misconceptions about the virus and the vaccines flooding people’s screens, how were Palestinian refugees residing in under-serviced camps with limited access to trusted resources on public health supposed to assess how to respond to the pandemic? After all the politically charged chaos and social and economic exclusion that these refugees have experienced in their lives and across three generations, their trust that the host government has their best interests at heart is low. This lack of credibility impacts participation in the national vaccination campaign.
This confusion around vaccination and mistrust in aid agencies and governmental bodies has left thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in a state of fear and limbo. They had doubts about vaccination, and we understand the reasons.
So how can we, as development practitioners, address this grave issue? What is Anera’s role in bringing some measure of clarity to this confusion?
In 2021, our public health and WASH teams in Lebanon launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about vaccination and encourage Palestinians to register via the Lebanese ministry of health’s vaccine enrollment platform. We helped provide transportation for 4,238 older camp residents and community members who were unable to travel to vaccination centers on their own. And we designed WhatsApp messages and set up informational and registration booths in refugee camps, which increased the number of vaccinated Palestinians in Lebanon by nearly 48%.
This activity is a part of the Empowered Communities in Action program, funded by UNICEF.
Our partner Americares provided food and hygiene boxes in the refugee camps to motivate vaccine registration. Anera procured and assembled 2,999 parcels of personal hygiene supplies and basic food items that we distributed through grassroots Palestinian charities.
The boxes contained rice, lentils, flour, hummus, pasta, sanitary pads, soap, reusable face masks, detergents and more. We offered the parcels to help encourage and motivate people to talk with our trained public health volunteers, receive fact-checked information about the COVID-19 vaccines, and register to get vaccinated.
Anera volunteers home delivering a food parcel.
Hygiene supplies in the motivational kits.
One of Anera's motivational kits used to promote vaccination, containing information and hygiene supplies.
More than 13,495 camp residents participated in these activities. These boxes of essential goods helped families direct whatever money they had towards other pressing expenses, like rent and piling debts.
So does this approach work? Here’s what some community members had to say.
Nour is a 22-year-old Palestinian refugee and resident of Ein El Hilweh Camp in the south of Lebanon. She was very hesitant about getting vaccinated because of the many rumors she heard about it. “I was actually afraid that it would kill me,” she recalls.
Today, Nour and her family have all received their first vaccine dose. She is even encouraging her friends to get vaccinated. “I am convinced that the vaccine will protect me, my family, and our community,” she says. “I am looking forward to my second dose. The vaccine is safe, effective, and free, and it is the only way to get us back to our normal lives.”
Nour told us that she and her family benefited greatly from the food and hygiene kits, and especially the personal protective equipment and sanitizers. She was also extremely grateful for the food content, calling it “truly a life raft during this economic collapse.”
"The vaccine is safe, effective, and free, and it is the only way to get us back to our normal lives.”
— Nour
Today, Nour and her family have all received their first vaccine dose. She is even encouraging her friends to get vaccinated. “I am convinced that the vaccine will protect me, my family, and our community,” she says. “I am looking forward to my second dose. The vaccine is safe, effective, and free, and it is the only way to get us back to our normal lives.”
Nour told us that she and her family benefited greatly from the food and hygiene kits, and especially the personal protective equipment and sanitizers. She was also extremely grateful for the food content, calling it “truly a life raft during this economic collapse.”
Laila is a 44-year-old Palestinian resident of Ein El Hilweh Camp. She was very worried about the rumored health complications of the vaccines that she saw on WhatsApp and Facebook.
“I just had to be logical! I didn’t see any complications happen to those around me who got vaccinated, and seeing these young Anera volunteers put so much effort into sharing scientific facts with us made my worries disappear!”
For Laila, the motivational kit was more of a gift that helped her protect her loved ones against the virus and made her worry a little less about keeping her pantry full for the next few months.
We distributed the motivational aid parcels with the support of Americares and our local partners, leading more than 3,549 Palestinians to register online to get vaccinated. So to answer the question we raised above: yes, motivational kits coupled with rigorous awareness-raising efforts do yield results!
"Seeing these young Anera volunteers put so much effort into sharing scientific facts with us made my worries disappear!”
— Laila
Rami is a 20-year-old volunteer with our local partner, the Women's Programs Association. He was one of many young community mobilizers who spent many hours staffing information booths, going door-to-door to encourage people to get vaccinated and he is extremely proud of the results.
“At first," he says, "we faced a lot of difficulties in convincing the camp residents to enroll themselves. I have had many doors shut in my face — they didn't want to even listen.”
"We really sensed a change in people's attitudes.”
— Rami
Rami explains that his community members depend on word-of-mouth in their everyday lives, and the rumors surrounding the vaccines were indeed frightening.
“To me, the scariest thing was people’s underestimation of the virus and its continuing threats to our society.”
However, little by little things started to change. More people were watching Anera’s awareness videos, sharing our Q&A posts, and learning enough to disregard misinformation about the vaccine.
“When we announced the distribution of the motivational kits, we really sensed a change in people's attitudes. They were flooding the distribution centers and actually listening to us!”
Rami and his fellow volunteers are an example of how the power of young people can change the status quo. With aware youth on our side, we were able to boost the number of vaccinated and registered Palestinians and safeguard communities all over Lebanon.
“As youths, we educate our communities, we empower our communities, we change our communities for the better - because today, we know better and we are heard!,” Rami says enthusiastically.
Inside Ein El Hilweh Palestinian Refugee Camp.
Inside Ein El Hilweh Palestinian Refugee Camp.
