The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Jordan Hashemite Fund for Development (JOHUD) recently began engaging refugee volunteers in a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Through the years, the UNHCR has been working alongside JOHUD to promote social cohesion by targeting Jordanians as well as Syrian, Iraqi, Somali, Sudanese and Yemeni refugees in camps and host communities. 

"We have many programmatic interventions that target refugees to help them integrate into society and increase their capacities,” Farah Hamam, communications manager at JOHUD told The Jordan Times. 

JOHUD works on two main components, the programmatic component, which is based in refugee camps, as well as the communication component, which was of great use during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hamam said.

"Through the pandemic, JOHUD focused on providing refugee volunteers with the online tools to equip them with life and professional skills using online videoconferencing platforms,” Hamam added.

"JOHUD also has a dedicated online interactive platform where information and news about the COVID-19 pandemic are shared weekly. The platform contains information on preventative methods against the virus, the different types of vaccines, the locations of vaccination centres, and much more. In addition to the platform, JOHUD hosts a radio show in support of UNHCR, where refugees get to share and hear stories from one another,” she noted.

According to Lilly Carlisle, a communications specialist at UNHCR Jordan, UNHCR has a community-based protection unit that works with a number of partners, one of which is JOHUD. 

"The prime aim of this partnership is to support the community centres where refugees and Jordanians meet and interact,” Carlisle said.

Each centre has a community support committee, which is a group of refugee volunteers that liaise with their communities and provide training and educational opportunities, she said.

"The volunteers act as a strong bridge between the UNHCR and the refugee and local communities for any issue they face or if they seek protection,” Carlisle said.

During the pandemic, the volunteers have been playing an important role by sharing vital information about issues that they face both in host communities and refugee camps, she said. 

Once the vaccine rollout started in January, the role of the volunteers expanded into the vaccine campaign awareness efforts, she added.

"Jordan sets a great example of how refugees have been included in the vaccination programmes. The UNHCR has been continuously sharing surveys alongside JOHUD to examine how refugees feel about the vaccine, and if there are any concerns to be addressed,” Carlisle said.

"At first, there were many concerns raised, especially with the rumours circulating and misinformation shared about the different types of vaccines. The UNHCR and our partners began a campaign with the refugee volunteers in order to address this issue. Ever since, there has been a noticeable improvement in the attitude of refugees towards the vaccine, and the number of refugees registering for the vaccine is steadily increasing,” she added.

Ahmad Jelo, a 27-year-old Syrian refugee, and volunteer in the governorate of Karak spoke about his experience volunteering on social inclusion efforts in the host community. 

"The work consisted of holding monthly events that discuss different issues, whether they be social, creative, or health-related. Once the pandemic hit, we started working to help those communities by supporting their new businesses while also distributing hygiene kits,” Jelo told The Jordan Times. 

Currently, they are working on raising awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine by holding online sessions and sending out awareness messages about the importance of the vaccine, he said.

 "We also work on responding to any medical inquiries by working alongside doctors from the Ministry of Health. It is essential to fight misinformation about the vaccine to decrease the mortality rate and guide people towards healthier lives,” he added.

Ahmad Othman, a Somali volunteer at Nuzha Community Centre, one of a network of 23 community centres operated by the UNHCR in collaboration with JOHUD for refugees, told The Jordan Times that Jordan is home to approximately 700 Somali refugees, and that their work focuses on informing the community about government restrictions, health guidelines and vaccine information by translating them into Somali. 

"It is important to raise community awareness about the vaccine’s safety so that we can increase the number of people who receive it. Our work will continue until we have all been vaccinated, allowing us to assist the government in reopening the remaining business sectors and returning to our daily lives,” he added.