As COVID-19 spreads, rural communities in
Ethiopia have too few resources to protect
themselves making them extremely vulnerable.
This affects all Kidame Mart female
entrepreneurs and customers. Kidame Mart
conducts routine internal surveys to determine
the 80 rural villages' readiness to protect
themselves against COVID-19. All 80 locations
reported limited access to essential protective
materials (hand sanitizers, gloves and masks)
and information regarding COVID-19. To help
contain the pandemic, personal hygiene including
hand washing, disinfecting surfaces and using
clean water to drink and cook is crucial.
It is vital that Ethiopian rural communities
have access to prevention materials and
information on how to protect themselves against
the virus. It is especially important to take
all measures to keep rural communities healthy
as Ethiopia only has 2 ventilators and 32 ICU
beds per one million people and rural Ethiopians
face heightened challenges in accessing
healthcare. As the largest last-mile
distribution network, KM can reach 1 million
rural vulnerable Ethiopians through its network
of 2,000 agents across 8 regions in 80 rural
villages. While COVID-19 presents a challenge
for KM, it also presents an opportunity to use
the agent network to slow/stop the spread of
COVID-19 to 1 million rural Ethiopians as well
as reduce the economic social hardship of rural
communities.
I
KM is urgently
seeking additional funding for COVID-19 response
to protect the 2,000 female entrepreneurs and 1
million rural consumers to "flatten the curve.”
While KM partners have been helpful in
supporting the initial response, Kidame Mart is
seeking further support to deliver an
information campaign where agents will deliver
the 7 Steps to Combat COVID-19, Proper Hand
Washing Technique, and Procedure if Feeling Sick
when making deliveries to their rural customers.
In addition, Kidame Mart needs support in
supplying every agent with necessary protective
materials ensuring they receive new masks,
gloves, and hand sanitizer each month at least
until the end of Ethiopia's State of Emergency."
Kidame
Mart featured in France24 segment covering rural
Ethiopia's response to COVID-19
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