Medical interventions alone will not stem the spread of COVID-19. It requires the public to understand and act on containment measures. But what does it take to develop effective health messages that people can hear?

Options and the Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action have developed a toolkit that helps governments to assess the readiness of their primary healthcare facilities to respond to COVID-19 and keep their frontline workers safe.

As the novel Covid-19 virus spreads across the globe, countries with particularly fragile health systems can take five steps to overcome the challenge of responding to the pandemic and continuing to provide vital services.