RANGIRA Lambert

When the Next Pandemic Comes, Communities Will Be the First Responders: Inside the BPRC Project Launch From 02 to 04 June 2026, @RwandaNGOForum is honored to join @eannaso , @ahfrwanda , and @RBCRwanda in convening stakeholders for the launch of the Building Pandemic-Ready Communities (BPRC) Project to be implemented in Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Rwanda and Sierra Leone were selected for the Building Pandemic-Ready Communities (BPRC) project because they represent highly informative public health landscapes in Africa, offering unique lessons in structural resilience and historical outbreak management. The event brought together civil society organizations, community groups, and public health actors to strengthen collaboration and advance community-led approaches to Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR). The workshop aims to provide a valuable platform for learning, dialogue, and experience sharing on outbreak preparedness, risk communication and community engagement, community-based surveillance, infection prevention and control, and emergency coordination. Discussions highlighted the critical role communities play as frontline actors during public health emergencies and the importance of strengthening their engagement in building resilient health systems, empowering them for effective detection, assessment, reporting, response, and long-term recovery. Through partnerships such as these, we continue to support efforts that empower communities with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats. Together, we can foster stronger, more informed, empowered, and pandemic-ready communities across Rwanda and beyond. Strengthening pandemic preparedness starts with empowered communities. #BPRC #PandemicPreparedness #CommunityEngagement #LetCommunitiesLead #HealthForAll