Community-Engaged Health Communication Strategies During the COVID 19 Pandemic: Experiences From Southern Andean Peru

This study examines the work of a collective of community-based Indigenous health rights activists in southern Peru who, at the height of the pandemic, designed, recorded, and disseminated seven Quechua language and culturally tailored Public Service Announcements for radio broadcast to provide information about COVID-19 vaccines. The activists took initiative amid a dysfunctional vaccine roll-out, when vaccination rates in their region were among the lowest in the country, and when mortality rates from COVID-19 were very high. The experiences of the activist collective, including their participatory, community-based approach and their connections with health workers, demonstrate the importance of pre-existing, strong, respectful relationships between communities and health systems in times of public health crisis. This is not an easy task given that relationships between communities and Peru's government-run health system are complex and shaped by dynamics of power, including colonial legacies and contemporary injustices. This case critically reflects on the notion of resilience and provides insights into the enduring struggles by Indigenous activists to decolonize and strengthen the public health system by pushing for forms of community participation based on substantive partnerships with community-based actors that genuinely integrate their knowledge and expertise.