Even before COVID-19, the Central African Republic has already been deeply weakened by years of violence and conflicts. The pandemic adds further burden to the healthcare system and economy, destabilizing the society and forcing an estimate of more than 140,000 people into extreme poverty according to the World Bank. As part of the governmental response to COVID-19, the use of masks became mandatory, making the country the first on the continent to impose such measures. The Central African Republic is one of the many countries where social distancing and confinement are difficult to impose, which makes the use of masks particularly important.

Under the mandate, the country needed to produce 10 million masks with standards meeting the World Health Organization guidelines. However, the country immediately faced a shortage of masks. To solve the problem, the LONDO project contacted 18,000 tailors and 300 local firms, who have collectively produced more than 2.4 million masks so far in record time.

The LONDO project, financed by the World Bank, is a program that provides temporary employment in the Central African Republic. “LONDO” means “stand up” in Sango, the official language of the Central African Republic. The extraordinary outcome of the LONDO project means not only improved health safety during COVID-19 for the country but also socioeconomic benefits by increasing employment and social stability.

To learn more about how LONDO project is helping the Central African Republic and stories of individual tailors who joined the project, visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/03/22/londo-temporary-employment-transforms-the-lives-of-central-africans