COVID-19 (Corona) and your community

COVID-19 continues to sweep the globe. Aid workers and NGOs worldwide are facing enormous challenges to address the needs of people and communities in crisis. Weak health systems are getting overburdened; people are in danger of losing their lives; movement is limited or even prohibited, causing people to lose their income; and important interventions are being suspended. On top of this, crises like these have the tendency to exacerbate existing inequality and power dynamics.

Worldwide, organisations are reassessing their existing analyses, strategies, and tactics. Now, more than ever, it is important to consider feedback from affected communities in any response effort in order to provide better and more efficient support.

Continuous community monitoring on the impact of COVID-19

Upinion can help you gather insights from your communities in these turbulent times. Our secure two-way communication platform enables monitoring on the impact of COVID-19 via a tool built on top of social media messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Every week we will send a short set of questions relevant to your community and your interventions. Results will be provided through real-time reports. Think of questions like:

Do you have access to information about the COVID-19 (Corona) virus?

• Yes, through (please mention organisation / website / social media / other source)
• No, I don’t have access to information about COVID-19 (Corona)
• I prefer not to answe

– All answers: refer to reliable sources, e.g. WHO or local hotlines

Have you received any food or hygiene assistance since the COVID-19 (Corona) outbreak started? (multiple answers possible)

• Yes, food rations
• Yes, sterilization and cleaning materials
• No, none of the above
• I prefer not to answer

– All answers: if possible refer to your food support and water and sanitation programme

In case you are a health or humanitarian organisation we can also include questions directly related to monitoring the spread of COVID-19 (Corona).

Staying connected with your communities

Upinion has developed a successful approach and online platform that allows organisations to easily and constantly stay in touch with people in crisis. It helps organisations to inform the people of their decisions, co-create their interventions, adjust activities along the way, and share valuable information that matters to them or by referring to relevant services. Upinion provides an easy way to collect aggregated data and real-time feedback in which there is space for scripted dialogues.

Engage securely

‘Do no (digital) harm’ and respect for privacy and security of individuals are at the core of our research methods. Upinion is committed to the highest standard of collection, storage and management of personal information and data. We are GDPR, ISO/IEC compliant, and members of ESOMAR and MOA.

Timely empowerment of communities

At best, misinformation can distract from critical support. At worst, it can lead to behaviour that amplifies the crisis or increases the transmission of COVID-19 virus. Direct and timely engagement with affected populations will result in a real time and more comprehensive picture of the situation, allowing organisations to provide tailored information and support.

Want to know more?

We believe, especially now, that our mission is vital: Amplifying voices of people in crisis situations. We are keen to collaborate with you and empower more people in the COVID-19 (Corona) crisis. Not simply by talking about them but talking with them.

We provide tailored collaboration schemes and are offering our COVID-19 Community Monitor at discounted rates. We look forward to getting in touch and supporting your work. Contact us at [email protected].