Perceptions on a Pandemic inside Syria - Bulletin 1

Containment and successful treatment of COVID-19 is contingent on community behaviour, which is inherently linked to information, trust and risk perception. Understanding these dimensions better will give responders and authorities invaluable insights on how to conduct, contextualise and shift the response, especially in fragile contexts. As such, we have partnered with the Humanitarian Needs Assessment Programme (HNAP) to hear how conflict-affected individuals inside Syria perceive the COVID-19 pandemic and response. For an initial duration of 3 months, HNAP will be surveying over 6,000 key informants on a monthly basis, enabling us to analyse how perceptions are changing over time.

This exercise is part of a broader H2H Network-funded project that Ground Truth Solutions is conducting which seeks to give responders and duty-bearers insights on how to conduct, contextualise and shift programming through understanding community perceptions.  In Syria, this is made possible through the Humanitarian Needs Assessment Programme for Syria (HNAP) a joint UN assessment initiative which tracks displacement and return movements, conducts sector and multi-sectoral assessments, and monitors humanitarian needs inside Syria. HNAP is implemented through local Syrian NGOs, with technical support from UN agencies.