The spread of COVID-19 among the expatriate community in Oman is a serious concern. Migrant workers (expatriates) make up more than 60% of infected people. There are over 100,00 expatriates in the Al Sharqia North Governorate. Some of these workers live in cramped accommodations and some of them have no legal documents, therefore they may not seek medical advice even if they have symptoms. The concern is that these migrant workers have a higher risk of disease spread and their living areas might be hubs for infection.

Considering that there are over 100,00 expatriates in the Al Sharqia North Governorate, the "We Share Responsibility" initiative was launched to communicate clear messages to the migrant workers in multiple languages about preventive measures their right to receive free medical services regardless of their legal situation.

The initiative started on 30th of March 2020 by forming a team at the governorate level that includes members from governmental sectors such health, education, the municipality, and social affairs. It also included volunteers from the community and from the private sector. Furthermore, the initiative was funded through the private sector and support was provided through coordination between government sectors.

After collecting data about the abundance of migrant workers and places where they usually gather, this team then conducted social visits to all expatriates and communicated messages relevant to hygiene, social distancing, and cough etiquette. Moreover, these visits helped in getting familiar with their housing conditions and social life and their requirements in order to support them during this pandemic. 

Production of videos and audio recordings in various languages was then carried out to raise awareness about COVID- 19 which were disseminated via media channels.

Charitable organizations were then approached to support the financially affected expatriates due to closing of the commercial activities by providing food and supplies.

Another action taken was the coordination with different sectors of the governorate to provide some of these workers with better housing to reduce overcrowding and subsequently the risk of spreading the infection.

The initiative aimed to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 among migrant workers and supporting them during the pandemic.

The project is still ongoing, however, raising awareness among the migrant workers about modes of transmission and prevention measures played an important role in the implementation of a successful stay at home and social distancing campaign.  

Although there was no systematic assessment performed, it was noted that better control of the incidence rate of COVID 19 among expatriate workers was achieved within the governorate through communicating messages regarding free health services.

The project also played a major role in connecting the community with each other and promoting responsibility.

Regarding post-pandemic prospects, this initiative was an opportunity to analyses the situation of  migrant workers in the governorate, in terms of where they are concentrated, living conditions and requirements. This may help the decision-makers to develop policies and regulations to limit the pooling of migrant workers in small residential areas.

The initiative reduced the spread of the disease among migrant workers.