Harvard medical student knocks down a big barrier to COVID-19 info - The Boston Globe

Harvard medical student knocks down a big barrier to COVID-19 info - The Boston Globe

‘Wash your hands’ — in your language

Indigenous physicians and translators are working to bring public-health guidance to their communities, some of which are among the hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Launched by medical student Victor Lopez-Carmen, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux and Pascua Yaqui Tribes, the programme is translating advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into 100 languages. The task requires more than word-for-word changes. “When you talk of [fatigue], hallucinations, or confusions … I had to get deeper and actually explain what these mean because it doesn’t have a specific word in Samburu,” says Emily Lerosion, a leader from the Samburu Tribe in northern Kenya.

The Boston Globe | 8 min read