This story was originally published by PeaceTech Lab.
It was March 20 when Cameroon saw its seventh confirmed case of COVID-19 and total number of confirmed cases stands at 848 with a total of 17 deaths (according to data verified by leading regional and local health departments) in the country. This number may seem small compared to the millions of confirmed cases in other countries, but it carried significant weight for one of PeaceTech Lab’s partner organizations, Local Youth Corner Cameroon (LOYOC).
The youth-led peacebuilding organization knew they needed to act fast to make a difference, so they launched “Operation One Person One Hand Sanitizer” that day.
After seeing a shortage and price surge of hand sanitizer, LOYOC quickly built a “rapid response lab” to craft homemade hand sanitizer that would be delivered to families in need for free. Following the World Health Organization’s directions on how to produce homemade hand sanitizer, the biomedical youth team created the perfect mixture of alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, glycerin and water to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Not only do these teams make the hand sanitizer, but they deliver them to homes, disinfect neighborhoods with protective cover-all, and work to fight misinformation about coronavirus online and offline. Thanks to the volunteers, young doctors, pharmacists, nurses and lab scientists, LOYOC has been able to produce and deliver 7,000 bottles of hand sanitizer in Cameroon.