Originally from Haiti, Dr. Bélizaire has been working in the humanitarian field since graduating in medicine and, in 2015, began supporting the effort to slow the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This year, WHO sent her to CAR, to set up the Organization’s COVID-19 response in the country. 

Dr. Bélizaire shares her story as part of the #RealLifeHeroes campaign, by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), ahead of this year’s World Humanitarian Day.

Building trust

 “I chose community medicine because I want to be with, and work with, the community. The best thing we can do for communities is to prevent them from having to be healed, by keeping them healthy. Everything can be prevented at the basic level.

I went to Cuba and saw how medicine is developed at the family and community level. Doctors live in their communities, and they know every single thing about their people’s health and illnesses. When you are with the community, you are sitting down, listening to them tell you how they feel. In DRC, during the Ebola response, I went to Mai-Mai (community-based militia) villages. I sat down and ate with them: if you eat with them, they will trust you.

It was very difficult to build that trust in the beginning. They don’t trust foreigners. They have bigger problems than Ebola. I asked colleagues to identify who has influence and which groups we should work with. We worked with motorcycle drivers, women’s , travel and patients’ associations, and sex workers. We left no one behind, because we wanted everyone involved. We showed them how to develop projects and be part of society and how they could work with, and not against, the government. We aimed for solidarity and unity.

Katwa, in Butembo City was one of the worst-affected by Ebola. The officials initially thought we were there just to earn money. But once they believed what in what we were doing, they decided to help us, and they convinced the community to listen.

Lessons learned

There are a number of lessons that you can apply from the Ebola response in DRC to the COVID response in CAR. 

First, the community has to be at the centre of any response. You have to work with them at the very early stages, and at every stage thereafter. Second, you need to take a win-win strategy. That means that you’re not only trying to end the Ebola or COVID outbreak, you need to focus on what comes next. What will they have after the disease is over? We need to respond to their basic needs.

Third, contact tracing is crucial. It is complicated, because people can be exposed to COVID multiple times, so we’re not always sure who is the source. But we are following through and finding sources. It has been a learning curve for this community. We trained 16,000 people in the North Kivu region of DRC, and we now have a chance to build a system like that here.

Building trust amidst insecurity

With Ebola, the difficulty was access to the community, because of insecurity or because groups would not let us in, and also because of terrible roads.

CAR is similar to DRC in terms of insecurity. Here we have a health crisis in the middle of a protracted humanitarian crisis.

So, the biggest challenge is coordinating our response and the lack of resources. This country is so vulnerable and the health system is so weak. We have to build a health system while dealing with an emergency. So, we’re both doing preparedness and response at the same time. It makes it very complicated.

One of the best things we’ve achieved in CAR is getting the Civil Protection Ministry involved in going door-to-door to detect people and spread awareness. That is a huge achievement as it’s really increased our capacity.

This is my mission

I love what I am doing. I always say I don’t feel like I’m working: this work is a passion for me. My passion is to work in the community. Every time I know someone is alive because of my intervention I feel fulfilled – this is what fulfils my life. This is my mission.

And it is also the mission of WHO. I work for a very wonderful institution and I embrace their mission – to save lives. I have to keep going as long as people are in need of my help. This makes me more than happy.”

From across the region, the UN in the Pacific brought together artists UN leaders, heads of State and international celebrities in the world’s first regional COVID-19 concert.

“I’m very proud to be part of this historic event”, said Tofiga Fepulea’i, who hosted the concert in character as the popular television persona ‘Aunty Tala’. “Now is the time for us to come together, to celebrate the strength and solutions that are possible when the Pacific unites”.

The two-and-a-half-hour show featured contributions from 12 Pacific island nations, including musical performances from Jahboy of the Solomon Islands, Mia Kami of Tonga, Juny B of Kiribati, Te Vaka of New Zealand and many more. 

“This is the first ever virtual concert to comprise primarily of artists from across the region and be accessible to audiences not only in the Pacific but around the world”, Mr. Fepulea’i added.

Moreover, videos messages of solidarity were delivered from international guests, such as the United Kingdom’s Prince Charles, Oscar-winning actor and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) advocate Forest Whitaker, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Solidarity

The virtual concert provided a platform for the geographically remote Pacific region to connect. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed reinforced the message that working together is the only way to overcome COVID-19. 

“Much remains to be done, and no one person, island or country can do it alone,” she said in her video remarks.

The UN deputy chief highlighted the responsibility of the global community to come together to help “our small island neighbours” respond to the pandemic by ensuring equitable access to vital medical equipment, supplies and – when they become available – vaccines. 
She noted that the global community must also help the hard-hit economies of small island developing States through debt relief and rapid support that stimulates inclusive and resilient growth.

“Let us keep standing together to fight the virus. Let’s say no to violence, no to discrimination, no to stigma, no to vicious misinformation,” she urged. “And let’s say yes to solidarity, yes to compassion, caring for each other in the Pacific way.”

Multidimensional impacts

Already among the most remote countries on earth, Pacific island states saw their vital economic links weakened with the evaporation of tourism, severe disruptions to international trade, and a reduction in remittances. 

The virtual concert brought attention to the multidimensional impacts of the pandemic, including a rise in domestic violence, unemployment, food insecurity, and mental health issues. 

Speakers reinforced the need to build back better by creating a sustainable Pacific that is resilient to the impacts of climate change.

“This new normal should not be the same old story, but with face masks,” said President of Palau, Tommy E. Remengesau Jr, in his video message. “The Pacific has been pushing for big changes in travel, in tourism, in fishing, in plastic use and in energy production. In a strange way, COVID-19 has cleared paths to those objectives. If we manage this challenge the right way, we can build a stronger system than we had before.”

Reach and reception

UN Web TV broadcast the virtual concert on radio and television networks in 12 Pacific island countries, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, throughout Asia, and globally. And it was captioned for people who are deaf or have hearing impairments.

“In the Pacific, we love our music, and to hear from our leaders across the region, and our friends, on how to cope and be safe, and how to ensure that we are living in the new normal, I think it is timely”, said Pacific Disability Forum CEO Setareki Macanawai. 

Watching on Facebook, law student at the University of the South Pacific’s Emalus Campus in Vanuatu Louisa Movick, believes in the healing powers of music. 
“In these difficult times with so many mixed emotions in the air, it is good to take a moment, breathe and listen to the music of our Pacific region through these artists”, she said.

The final act

The concert closed with a moving performance of a song called “We Will Rise”, written about the coronavirus pandemic in the Pacific and performed by Pasifika Voices and the International School Suva. 

Sung primarily by children and youth, the heart-warming lyrics concluded on a note of hope.

“Around the world we’re closing borders, COVID-19 on the rise
A new world order behind closed doors, the storm will pass, we will survive
We will rise, we will rise again, our isles will rise again 
We will rise, we will rise again, our world will rise again”