The COVID-19 pandemic is specially threatening to the black and the poor. In Brazil, data show that of the 10 neighbourhoods in the city of São Paulo with the most cases of the disease, eight are poorer and mostly black – a study by the city government pointed out that the risk of death if you’re black is 62% higher than that if you’re white in the city.

In Rio de Janeiro history repeats itself. The favelas have been one of the great epicentres of the disease, with 17% of its residents infected compared to an average of 7.5% for the entire city. The trend is repeated in other capitals across the country.

In the UK, BAME (Black Asian and minority ethnic) people are also amongst those most affected; 34% of critically-ill patients identified as such and 15.5% of deaths involved BAME people.

Groups of activists joined forces to try to inform and mitigate the worst effects of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable populations through 'crisis cabinets'

In the US the story continues. African Americans died from COVID-19 at almost three times the rate of whites. Making up roughly 13% of the US population, as of May, nearly 23% of reported COVID-19 deaths were African American.

But the situation could be even worse. In Brazil, and especially in Rio de Janeiro, the absence of the state is heavily felt - however, the state always appears through the Military Police in violent actions against residents of the poorest communities.

And just as in the USA, the constant violence against this population, together with the desperate situation of several communities in the face of the advancing pandemic, led to protests in Brazil, but above all, to self-organisation.

Despite all difficulties – or because of them – groups of activists joined forces to try to inform and mitigate the worst effects of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable populations through "crisis cabinets" – and such local organisations can be not only a hint of what the future awaits but they also can teach the world to tailor measures to tackle epidemics targeted to specific populations.

“Once again it is the favela showing that it is self-sustaining, that the micro-politics work and that the "nóis por nóis" is very important,” said journalist Rennan Leta, who is part of the communication collective Voz das Comunidades (Voice of the Communities) and also the crisis cabinet of the Alemão favela complex. The popular motto “nóis por nóis” is roughly translated as “it’s we for us.”

And what started in the Alemão, soon spread to other communities. Raull Santiago, a human rights activist and member of Papo Reto collective (Straight Talk), believes that working in the community has inspired others to do the same. "I've heard some groups saying that they mirrored our work," he said.

Through those crisis cabinets, activists are trying to bring food and basic necessity items to the poorest, as well as seeking to create information campaigns tailored to this specific, mostly black, audience. In the Complexo do Alemão, Rocinha, Complexo da Maré and other favelas, activists have been doing their best to make a difference to their communities.

Within the specificities of each community, they teach that self-organisation and self-management is important. That the community must unite for a cause.

“If we take only the official recommendations – self-isolation, washing our hands – all of them, for the favelas, need to be worked differently. Social isolation has to be different, there's the problem of [lack of] water supply and the government hasn't done anything to take into account these differences in the favela,” explained Lana de Souza, journalist, member of the collective Papo Reto and of the Alemão crisis cabinet.

And to reach that audience with specific needs, the activists had to look for ways to communicate with the population. Placing banners in the main points of the favela is “one of the ways used to promote cultural actions, notices about social services. Since the use of banners is common, we decided to go this way," explained the photojournalist and member of Papo Reto, Bento Fábio.

He added that a fundamental part of the work they do is to distribute food to avoid hunger and it is during the distribution that they talk face to face about the need for wearing masks – which they even distribute to clinics inside the communities “since the government is not providing them.”

Food distribution, educational campaigns through posters and conversations with residents, distribution of masks and the use of social media also for dissemination of information and accountability are some of the activities that the crisis cabinets have carried out in the virtual absence of the state during the pandemic in the poorest communities of Rio and they have potentially avoided an even worse situation.

Right at the beginning, said Fabio, the idea about the cabinet “was to raise awareness among residents, thinking about how difficult it would be to isolate oneself within a favela, thinking about extremely small and vulnerable.” In this way, the work of the activists became vital.

“The favela has ‘created’ several government programmes”

Leta explains that “the favela has ‘created’ several government programmes” such as daycare centres organised by residents, financial aid so that children can study, etc. “Understanding this movement is important because, who knows, maybe the Crisis Cabinet will be seen as a means of making politics in our territory,” said Leta.

The community organisation in Rio de Janeiro points to ways to be followed by other vulnerable communities around the world: self-organisation and collective solidarity, not waiting for the state, but seeking to create their own means to overcome adversity.

Such initiatives teach a lesson to governments and policymakers on the importance of better planning crisis-response and to tailor campaigns and measures for each specific community while listening to the communities.

And the creation of a collective identity through coordinated and self-organised actions can eventually lead to a profound change in the very way we do and see politics, bringing about broader changes beyond the territory of the communities. – Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

(Photo credit: Joao Ritter/Unsplash)