Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is distributing 218,000 reusable masks and 75,000 soaps to the population of Machar Colony, Kemari town, Karachi. The door-to-door mass distribution of soaps and masks aims to provide the community with tools to help prevent COVID-19 from spreading from infected and asymptomatic people to the general population. Every individual over the age of 12 will receive two masks, and three bars of soap are provided to every household in the settlement. The activity is conducted with the support of the Sindh Department of Health and the distribution is done by the community healthcare workers who normally conduct vaccination campaign in the area.

Machar Colony is an informal settlement in Karachi – worst COVID-19 affected city in Pakistan. Machar is located at the edge of a fish harbour and has an estimated population of 120,000 people, who are mainly migrants and undocumented people. As the residents live in tightly packed streets in small houses with their extended family, it is very hard for them to adhere to physical distancing.