"Internews designed “The Power of Trust” to strengthen intercultural health networks and provide information to build trust around COVID-19 vaccines. Over 11 months, Internews and local partners continuously listened to the information needs of the communities. In response, we developed forums in conjunction with knowledgeable health professionals and promoted media coverage of topics based on feedback in partner meetings and reports. Partners maintained ongoing relationships with Indigenous, Afro-descendant, rural, last-mile, and marginalized communities with insufficient health care, building capacities of local media sources and communicators to increase access to COVID-19 information. Internews collaborated with local partners, community communicators and media sources to adapt project activities to priority community needs. As a result, co-created sessions actively centered participants, were in local languages, used cultural codes specific to each community, and focused on context-specific concerns. In addition, Internews helped facilitate discussion spaces for community members to build dialogue with health experts to bridge gaps across Western and traditional medicine in addressing COVID-19 and other health issues. As the pandemic evolved, Internews also identified changing health priorities among focus communities and adapted trainings to mitigate the perceived changes, allowing project participants within these communities to more effectively reduce the spread of rumors related to COVID, vaccines, and other emerging health crises. Weekly radio programs on platforms like local Indigenous radio Radio Waira in Putumayo, Colombia incorporated intercultural approaches to discussing health topics to build trust." (Executive summary)
Detailed report, 9
Project Activities, 10
Intercultural Health Initiatives, 11
Bolivia, 13
Colombia, 14
Peru, 16
Challenges and Lessons Learned, 18
Moving Forward, 19