Still Unprotected: Humanitarian Funding for Child Protection

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Children have a fundamental right to be protected, wherever they live. Children affected by humanitarian crises are among the most vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect and most in need of protection, yet there is limited commitment to fund protective responses. Throughout 2020, the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the containment measures have layered risk upon risk for children in humanitarian crises. Although the overall funding for child protection is increasing, the…

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Social protection and humanitarian cash and food responses to COVID-19: Needs, coverage, and gaps

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The direct economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns are leading more people into poverty and hunger. Estimates to date on the impact of COVID-19 on poverty and food security are an important first step towards understanding the potential scale of need. However, they are mainly based on very high-level projections that apply uniform assumptions on impact, that simultaneously under-estimate the scale of needs and obscure who or where the needs are likely…

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COVID-19: Reflecting on the role of the WHO in knowledge exchange between the Global North and South

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COVID-19 as a truly global pandemic presents a unique opportunity to reflect – through an ‘anti-colonial’ lens – on the role that WHO plays in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) versus high-income countries (HICs). This divide, also referred to as the global south and the global north, coincides in many ways with the separation between former colonies and colonial powers. This commentary will use COVID-19 as a case study to argue that the WHO can…

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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Assessment on COVID-19

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To understand communities’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP), along with their information needs on COVID-19, this KAP assessment was conducted by the Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS), with support from IFRC, under the Community Based Migration Programme (CBMP) from 20 July to 12 August 2020. The assessment has been conducted via TRCS’ social media platforms, phone interviews and online consultations/focus group discussions (FGDs) with refugees and local people in 16 TRCS Community Centre locations. Comprising…

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Optimizing Pandemic Preparedness and Response through Health Information Systems: Lessons Learned from Ebola to COVID-19

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Strengthening health systems and maintaining essential service delivery during health emergencies response is critical for early detection and diagnosis, prompt treatment, and effective control of pandemics, including the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Health information systems (HIS) developed during recent Ebola outbreaks in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provided opportunities to collect, analyze, and distribute data to inform both day-to-day and long-term policy decisions on outbreak preparedness. As COVID-19 continues to…

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Are warnings of a COVID-19 famine in Africa overblown?

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Alarm bells have been ringing for months that COVID-19 could push fragile African countries “closer to the abyss” of famine as jobs are lost, local markets close, and poverty deepens. Aid agencies routinely list the coronavirus as a major factor in driving humanitarian needs, from the Sahel to Somalia, and don’t shy away from describing its impact as the “perfect storm”. A joint report in July by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food…

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Covid-19 and local humanitarian action: five emerging trends

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The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the international humanitarian sector to adapt to a different operational reality, with many international staff unable to travel and access affected communities. A renewed focus on the role of local actors offers an opportunity to turn this rhetoric into action, and provide more funding, support and recognition for national humanitarian responders. Capturing evidence of changes is important. It not only helps inform future programming, funding decisions and details lessons learnt,…

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Systems thinking for health emergencies: use of process mapping during outbreak response

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Summary: There is little to no published research on process mapping being conducted during health emergen-cies to improve the current outbreak response. Our research shows that despite the chaos and complexities associated with emerging pathogen outbreaks, process mapping can address immediate response priorities while simultaneously strengthening components of a health system. This methodology could be applied to any country that has an outbreak, including COVID-19 cases. There is an acute need in the global health…

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Policy Brief: COVID-19 and Universal Health Coverage

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In the space of nine months, COVID-19 has spread to more than 190 countries, with over 30 million cases reported. Over one million lives have been lost. The pandemic has laid bare long-ignored risks, including inadequate health systems, gaps in social protection and structural inequalities. It has also brought home the importance of basic public health, and strong health systems and emergency preparedness, as well as the resilience of a population in the face of…

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COVID-19 Socio-Economic Response Plan

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This document first presents an analysis of the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in South Sudan. Based on such analysis, it proposes a set of priority interventions that can be translated into joint programmes by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes (AFPs) and the Mission.   Download

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