A troubling and false narrative has taken hold in Peru and is spreading across Latin America about the role of informal market traders in the growth of COVID-19 cases. But these workers are not the problem. In fact, they have been fighting to be part of the solution, in partnership with local governments and market administrators, from the outset of the pandemic. WIEGO's Focal City Lima team is working closely with informal vendor organizations to raise awareness about the vital role market traders play in food supply chains, and the support they need from governments and the general public.
In Peru, the Federación Nacional de Trabajadores de Mercado (the National Federation of Market Workers) held a well-attended online press conference to tell their story, and WIEGO issued a press statement to bring visibility at the international level to market traders’ demands and contributions.
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