A total of 1,250 members of Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTS) in the region were trained on public communications in a bid to strengthen contact tracing and testing and further boost the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Contact tracing will only be successful if the community accepts it as an effective measure in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, and this will not be possible without proper communication,” said Local Government Operations Officer III Danilo Azarcon Jr. of the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Cordillera.
He said the training will ensure members of the community will feel supported and protected, and that they will receive empathetic and culturally appropriate engagement in an accessible language.
He added BHERTs that demonstrate empathy and trusting communication in community interactions are essential to complete the health care interaction to the fullest potential.
BHERTs, a community organization tasked in managing all Covid-19-related healthcare needs, are also tasked to make sure residents within their jurisdiction are all accounted for and are fully informed about the disease.
“By communicating risk, facilitating contact tracing, and connecting communities with larger local health systems, these neighborhood-based teams form the frontline of efforts to delay COVID-19’s spread and locally contain the pandemic,” Azarcon said.
The DILG mandates the creation of a BHERT for every 5,000 population, composed of an executive officer, a barangay tanod, and two barangay health workers, one preferably a nurse or a midwife to be appointed by the punong barangay.
Further, the DILG, together with local government units and other partner agencies, will ensure all BHERTs are equipped, visible, and accessible in local communities with proper trainings and skills. – Press release
