HYDERABAD: In a bid to reinforce the fight against Covid-19, the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) and UNICEF have provided online training to over 28.33 lakh community leaders on ‘Risk Communication’.
As part of this, the NIRDPR and UNICEF picked officials and members of various Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), self-help groups (SHGs) and community radio stations in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and provided them training on social behaviours required to control the transmission of Covid in their communities.
The online training programme was initiated on the lines of a detailed Risk Communication Plan to build capacities of PRIs, SHGs, National Service Scheme (NSS) officials and volunteers, and Community Radio Stations (CRS), on the role that they can play in preventing the spread of the deadly virus in their groups and village communities.
Speaking about the initiative, WR Reddy, Director General, NIRDPR, said: “We recognised the exceptional role that the leaders of Panchayati Raj Institutions and village organisations play in dealing with the Covid crisis by disseminating reliable information. Hence, we decided to build their capacities by endowing them with facts about the virus, common symptoms, modes of transmission and key behaviours, among other things.”
The Communication Resource Unit (CRU) of NIRDPR and UNICEF, Hyderabad field office, developed and shared relevant materials such as handouts, posters, FAQs and audio-visual documents with all trainees to be circulated in their respective rural communities. Reddy also added, “We have planned to rope in Nehru Yuva Kendras to help the Panchayat leadership. Only by leveraging the strength of the local governments can we ensure the pandemic management.”