As Covid-19 has caused unprecedented shifts in humanitarian response, NetHope Members are taking monumental steps to ensure the safety of underserved populations across the globe. NetHope supports its Members globally. We take pride in their responses and the tremendous impact they are having around the world.
Below are snapshots of some of the responses of our Members to this world-changing pandemic. This information was gathered directly from the Members’ websites, and you can visit their sites to find out more.
Accion continues to focus on financial inclusion during this time. Accion is working with its partners around the globe to adapt and respond to the challenges of Covid-19 and offer solutions that help people stay resilient during this difficult time. Among their responses, they have worked with Fintechs in India to provide small businesses with quick and more affordable loans.
ActionAid is focusing on community-based response. ActionAid staff and partners are sharing essential health information with vulnerable communities and providing vital supplies through their women-led response. One example is ActionAid’s Gauravi One-Stop Crisis Centre for sexual and domestic violence survivors in Bhopal, India. The Centre has become a hub for coronavirus response – it has opened a community kitchen and is delivering food and sanitation kits to marginalized groups.
Americares’ Covid response prioritizes the safety of frontline health workers, delivering critical supplies such as masks, gowns, gloves and disinfectants to clinics to health facilities in 24 countries.
Ashoka Fellows have over 200 responses to the pandemic. An innovative example of their impact has been the implementation of cabins with a sterilization and disinfection system that uses micro-spraying cleaning technology to prevent transmission of the virus, provided free to hospitals, airports, and metro and bus stations in Mexico.
CARE has established emergency aid plans in 75 of the 100 countries in which it operates, and is also working to provide training for health workers and strengthen hygiene measures. CARE India us reaching millions of people across the country through SMS text campaigns, providing education and awareness on Covid-19 prevention. CARE Cambodia is conducting radio programs to reach students in remote indigenous areas.
Catholic Relief Services is responding to rising Covid-19 cases in the world’s most vulnerable communities, distributing soap and hygiene kits, and sharing prevention messages that help minimize risk of infection. CRS and Caritas Bangladesh are currently providing emergency assistance to communities affected by Covid‐19 in Cox’s Bazar, home to 700,000 refugees from Myanmar. As many as 2,075 families have received a three‐month advance of $50 per month to meet their most urgent needs.
ChildFund’s $56 million Covid-19 response plan aims to reach 6.3 million children and family members in its initial phase. Through December 2020, ChildFund is allocating $30 million of its own program funds and all operational capacity toward the Covid-19 emergency response. Some impact examples include installing community handwashing stands; educating communities about symptoms, hygiene measures and where to get tested or treatment; and distributing soap, hand sanitizer, gloves and masks to families and frontline health workers.
Children International’s response is through sponsor-based work focused on providing telehealth services, food support, virtual programming, and hygiene education. For example, in Colombia, programming continues to operate virtually, and sponsored children are receiving telehealth and in-person referral services for medical, psychological, optical and adolescent health.
Christian Aid’s Coronavirus Crisis Care responds to the huge physical and spiritual needs and opportunities Covid-19 presents. Christian Aid has received requests for aid from more than fifty-five countries, including the United States. Amongst their response, staff in Romania are providing bread and milk for elderly people who are alone, and for several orphanages on their Milk-for-Many-Mouths program.
Compassion International works in developing nations focusing on medical care, food and nutrition, and guidance and support. In Burkina Faso, partner churches have distributed 361,898 food packs and 209,992 hygiene kits to families and continue to work to raise awareness of Covid-19 prevention. They have also helped 11,531 individuals access medical care.
 NetHope supports its Members globally. We take pride in their responses and the tremendous impact they are having around the world. |
Concern Worldwide’s Covid response focuses on distributing PPE, setting up handwashing stations, delivering key prevention messages to poor communities, and ensuring children don’t fall into malnutrition during extended lockdowns. For example, in Somalia, Concern Worldwide is providing cash transfers to vulnerable households across the country to ensure social distancing is maintained. They are also using innovative ways to register and verify beneficiaries using mobile phone technology.
DanChurchAid (DCA) actalliance is responding through a broad range of preventive measures. Their initiatives include water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities, as well as other activities to counter stigmatization, discrimination and gender-based violence (GBV). In Nepal, DCA provided immediate relief packages and medical gear support worth 6.5 million rupees and produced Sajhedhari, a radio program in partnership with the local government, providing correct information and facts to help listeners understand and respond to Covid-19.
The Danish Refugee Council describes fighting a "crisis within a crisis", taking preventative measures to ensure refugee populations don't further suffer due to the ramifications of Covid-19. Their focuses include protection, basic needs, economic recovery, community engagement and armed violence reduction, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). DRC’s in-house knowledge center, the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), adapted the existing 4Mi data collection program to collect data remotely (by phone) specifically focused on the impact of Covid-19 on refugees and migrants, especially those on mixed migration routes out of camp settings.
Direct Relief works on four key areas of response: providing PPE to safeguard health workers, deploying medication needed for ICUs to expand capacity, boosting support to safety-net facilities to address existing chronic gaps that are likely to grow, and collaborating with infectious disease epidemiologists, technology companies, and public agencies to use aggregated mobility data to support the Covid-19 response. Direct Relief is the foremost charitable provider of PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a total of 20,079 shipments to 2,416 partners in the United States valued at $179.4 million.
FHI360 works with partners to provide a full range of support: facilitating Covid-19 vaccine and treatment trials, developing remote learning plans and socio-emotional support systems for children and youth, leveraging HIV and TB programs in more than 40 countries to support countrywide Covid-19 treatment and response, and much more. FHI Clinical supports the development of lifesaving vaccines and medicines and is engaged in the early stages of multiple Covid-19 clinical trials.
Global Communities’ focus remains on their mission and communities. A longtime reputation in water, sanitation and hygiene and experience with other public health emergencies including Ebola, Zika and cholera make them uniquely qualified and positioned to play a role in responding to Covid-19. One of their many responses includes providing essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services to the Atmeh camp cluster, which is home to approximately 154,000 displaced Syrians.
GOAL's emergency response function focuses on saving lives and alleviating human suffering. This response often involves prioritizing needs such as food, water, shelter, cash and other non-food items. It also seeks to reduce morbidity and mortality through the delivery of targeted health responses, including emergency sanitation, hygiene promotion, disease surveillance, immunization campaigns, outbreak response, curative nutrition programs and primary healthcare services.
As Habitat for Humanity looks to resume work according to local guidance, Habitat For Humanity’s local organizations in the United States have donated more than 160,000 N95 respirators and 14,000 Tyvek suits to healthcare providers.
Heifer International has been responding to the Covid-19 pandemic in a variety of ways – including improving food security and raising awareness of Coronavirus. For example, in order to improve food security and enable farmers to earn a living, in Cambodia the Heifer team have created refrigerated tuk-tuks to enable farmers to bring their goods to market – this will benefit 2,692 farmers.
HIAS continues to find ways to reach displaced populations in all 16 countries of operation. They are equipping refugee communities with critical information about the virus, how to access their rights to medical care, and how to remain safe. They are also finding ways to remotely deliver services, including providing information, assessing refugees' critical needs, and providing one-on-one counseling.
The International Federation of Red Cross has a range of different Coronavirus responses. Some of the responses focus on supporting vital health infrastructure: supporting access to health care; preventing the spread of disease in places of detention while safeguarding the rights and dignity of detainees and ensuring access to clean water and sanitary living conditions. An innovative technology impact through ICRC’s response has been training videos that make use of virtual reality technology to train prison authorities and staff around the world on Covid-19 prevention and management.
The International Medical Corps’ Covid response works on meeting the most critical gaps of each at-risk country. Their priorities include training and capacity building to protect frontline health workers/staff, prepositioning and deploying medicines and supplies (including PPE), deployment of screening and triage stations, and case management through community outreach and engagement and epidemic response teams. In the DRC, IMC distributed information through bulk SMS messaging on Covid-19 protective measures, including the proper use of masks, reaching 10,000 mobile phone subscribers weekly.
International Rescue Committee created a real-time risk categorization index and response plan. This is paired with ongoing efforts to keep staff and communities safe with the proper knowledge and supplies while delivering lifesaving care. Among their responses, IRC is currently setting up a health call center for refugees run by doctors and nurses and sharing vital coronavirus information with refugees through their SignPost online platforms that can be accessed on a mobile phone.
Islamic Relief Worldwide is responding to Covid-19 in many of the 35 countries in which it works. As Covid-19 impacts more communities around the world, Islamic Relief teams are running health clinics, providing hygiene kits and access to sanitation. They are also raising awareness of good hygiene practices like washing hands, training communities in healthcare and working with local government to provide medical and hygiene support where healthcare capacity is low.
Management Sciences for Health is working to fortify emergency supply chains to ensure access to medicines, equipment, and supplies. They are also working to bolster health workforce capacity, strengthen infection prevention and control to prevent spread and protect health workers, patients, and communities. MSH partners with health facilities to assess capacities and build skills in infection prevention and control, using e-learning technologies and peer-to-peer learning to ensure progress even when local travel is restricted.
MedAir’s Covid-19 response focuses on training and equipping staff, ensuring proper supplies and equipment in health centers, distributing essential hygiene supplies, and prevention and educational activities. MedAir is distributing soap and providing access to clean water, including installing handwashing stations in high-density refugee camps and informal settlements to improve hygiene.
Médecins sans Frontières’ operational focus in countries where robust health systems exist is offering its expertise in handling complex emergencies and advising on public health approaches, taking pressure off overstretched health facilities, ensuring healthcare workers are protected, and caring for vulnerable populations. In settings with fragile health systems, MSF’s priority is to ensure medical teams are able to provide life-saving care and safely manage potential Covif-19 patients. For example, in Haiti, teams carried out health promotion campaigns in communities and via public media, as well as several training initiatives targeting health workers and community leaders.
Medical Teams International focuses on PPE, Covid-19 testing clinics, urgent dental care, isolation and treatment centers, shipment of medical supplies, and preventing infections. Medical Teams’ mobile dental vans in Washington, for example, have been repurposed for Covid-19 testing. So far, they have helped screen 7,053 people for Covid-19 in Washington state.
Mennonite Central Committee is well-positioned through its ongoing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health, and food programs to address the threats of Covid-19 for some of the world’s most vulnerable people. MCC’s partner organizations distributed 18,000 Covid-19 hygiene kits in Syria, 2,000 in Lebanon and 928 in Jordan. The partners identified people who were most in need.
Mercy Corps are working in more than 40 countries helping communities to prepare for and protect against the Coronavirus pandemic by providing accurate information and resources for safe handwashing. Graduates of their tailoring program in Somalia are now playing an indispensable role in the fight against the spread of Covid-19, making face masks from locally available materials as a way to make additional income and protect their communities.
Mercy Ships continues to respond directly to the needs of their West and Central African partners. For example, In Guinea, Mercy Ships is increasing support to the Gamal Dental University in Conakry.
Norwegian Refugee Council works to increase people’s knowledge about the Coronavirus and how they can protect themselves and prevent the virus spreading. They are also stepping up efforts to safeguard water supplies and improve sanitary conditions, in addition to distributing soap and hygiene products. In Jordanian refugee camps, NRC has distributed hygiene kits and promotional material to all households in the camp and to at least 1,000 households in the host community, amongst other initiatives.
Oxfam is working with partners to reach more than 14 million people in more than 60 countries to prevent the spread of the disease in vulnerable communities and support people’s basic food needs and livelihoods. Their Covid-19 response in Afghanistan, for example, has served 344,706 people by stepping up community engagement, public health promotion, and water sanitation.
PATH experts are partnering with governments to establish emergency operations centers, advise on testing, treating, and managing the outbreak, and stand up digital and data systems that support real-time disease surveillance. For example, PATH distills cutting-edge medical technologies to their essence, then reinvents them as affordable, reliable, easy-to-use tools that work in places where resources are limited, power is scarce, or trained health care workers are few.
Plan International’s response focuses on communicating public health information, installing handwashing facilities and distributing hygiene kits whilst ensuring that the needs and rights of girls and young women are addressed. Plan created a 100M Euro emergency appeal to support the most vulnerable children affected by the Covid-19 crisis and to protect girls and young women.
Pro Mujer’s response emphasizes women's health and economic wellbeing, leveraging partnerships to provide resources to women in Latin America. Along with other initiatives, Pro Mujer developed and launched the mobile app RADAR for their employees across Latin America. The app provides a daily snapshot of the organizational risk for Covid-19 infection, helping Pro Mujer respond swiftly to protect workers and beneficiaries.
Project Concern International is working closely with partners, local and national governments and the people they serve, and their dedicated staff remain committed to promoting and strengthening locally driven, community-centered solutions and actions. In Kenya, PCI’s mobile app-based service, AfriScout, combines community-defined grazing maps with satellite imagery to guide pastoralists to the nearest water and vegetation for their herds. Messages have been shared with the app’s users related to social distancing at livestock markets and other prevention measures.
Relief International is responding to the outbreak by launching new responses and adapting existing programs so that refugees and those living in fragile settings do not lose the services they depend on amidst this global pandemic. From sourcing protective medical gear for frontline health workers in Iran to continuing life-changing programs with Syrian refugees in Jordan, Relief’s local teams are on the ground responding to the widespread impact of the virus.
Right To Play is applying their expertise from the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia to today’s Coronavirus crisis. Before physical distancing was put in place, they were able to teach 33,000 children proper handwashing techniques that will help keep them and their families safe through the crisis. As stay-at-home orders rolled out, Right To Play has shifted to remote programming, and are now reaching children in all 15 countries of operation. Currently, Right To Play is using their experience working with children in conflict-affected areas to develop and deliver health and psychosocial support activities aimed at children and their parents.
Salvation Army International created a Covid-19 response group to respond to the crisis by assessing both the needs as they are presented as well as the capacity to respond to these needs. The Salvation Army in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, for example, is working with the country’s Ministry of Health and WHO. Through this work, an initial 30,000 high-risk individuals identified in the Temeke community will be provided with handwashing materials. A public address system will be deployed to share healthcare messages, and handwashing facilities will be made available at important locations such as bus stops.
Samaritan's Purse launched new efforts and adapted projects to support people who are suffering during this global pandemic. Among their efforts, they are providing food to mothers in Iraq, hygiene training in Cambodia, and medical care for migrant communities along the Colombia-Venezuela border.
Save the Children developed an Agenda for Action and launched the "Protect a Generation" program, with a priority to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on child survival, help children learn, stay safe, and return to school. The initiative also supports family survival and food security through safety nets. For example, in Nepal, Save the Children is using technology to support parents and caregivers, including providing them with wellbeing and positive parenting activities in audio form via a free-to-call number in their local language.
SOS Children’s Villages International is responding to the Covid-19 crisis, focusing on the following four areas: preparedness and protection; child protection, mental health and psychosocial support for children and families; education and youth employment; and strengthening struggling families. In Ethiopia, SOS Children’s Villages supported children with solar powered radios so they could listen to school broadcasts.
Team Rubicon is assisting with humanitarian support and emergency services such as the delivery of food, water, shelter, and medical care in communities across the US. On a recent mission to serve the Navajo Nation, Team Rubicon medical personnel were able to see 2,572 patients.
The Carter Center asks its donors to direct gifts intended for the Carter Center to a local group that is reducing the suffering caused by this pandemic. In Liberia, the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program collaborates with the government on strategies aimed at reducing acute stress or exacerbated mental health problems associated with containment measures, such as lockdowns and quarantines in affected counties.
Trócaire’s response ranges from supporting public health messaging and improving handwashing facilities, to supporting people in quarantine and providing medical expertise. In Somalia, Trócaire has been supporting the delivery of high-quality essential health services, such as screenings, PPE, equipping of isolation centers, and a gender-based violence hotline.
UNICC has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with agile solutions to support the UN family, through various services and engagements. UNICC has stepped up efforts throughout the crisis to support all managed and shared services, delivering ongoing projects and helping with a significant increase in workload for their clients. This includes ensuring that teleworking tools and platforms can sustain an increased number of simultaneous users.
VSO’s response emphasizes engaging vulnerable communities, reaching the most marginalized, supporting health systems, sustaining livelihoods, continuing education, and building resilience. As part of the Building Learning Foundations project, VSO volunteers in Rwanda are working with the government to adapt lessons from the schooling curriculum into content for TV and radio broadcasts, so children can keep up with their lessons whilst at home.
War Child Holland’s efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic aim to ensure no child is left behind and work to boost efforts to meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities wherever they are present. With the help of local artists such as Check-B Magic, War Child Holland created messages covering public health, good hygiene and emotional care. These messages were broadcast on local radio stations and shared through mobile sound-systems in refugee settlements.
WaterAid is deploying their handwashing and hygiene expertise to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in more than 30 countries. The WaterAid team in Mozambique made use of campaign cars to broadcast educational messages in 43 municipal districts. This was launched on May 15 with loudhailer hygiene and prevention broadcasts as well as posters.
Welthungerhilfe's global Covid-19 program includes emergency assistance measures such as awareness raising about contagion risks and preventive measures, hygiene measures, and food distribution. The program also helps with reconstruction, equipping beneficiaries to deal with crises in the future. This includes investment in farming, water supply and sanitation, and support for local markets and value chains. Currently, for example, Welthungerhilfe is distributing seeds and seedlings to enable people to grow their own food.
Winrock International has responded to the pandemic in a variety of ways both. For example, their global response includes initiating a French language poster to educate beneficiaries in a fisheries project in Senegal. In the US, Winrock helped assist the First Nations Development Institute in facilitating the delivery of 21,000 gallons of water to Native communities in the Southwest.
Women for Women has served 14,340 women during the pandemic with cash assistance, radio awareness, phone calls, hygiene kits, WhatsApp groups and more. 1,660,053 people in local communities in South Sudan, DRC, and Nigeria were reached by their radio programs discussing Covid-19 information and women’s issues.
World Vision International is maintaining humanitarian and development operations in some of the most impoverished and vulnerable communities in the face of Covid-19. Within this global effort, World Vision’s Covid-19 Emergency Response is leading and coordinating a principled humanitarian response in 17 initial priority countries, aiming to reach 22.5 million people – half of them children. World Vision is leveraging its local networks in order to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people during the pandemic.
NetHope Members WWF International and the Wildlife Conservation Society have publicly supported the actions of the Government of China in closing markets that sell wildlife for human consumption and urge other countries to quickly adopt similar regulations.
NetHope Members Marie Stopes International, FUPAD, and The Nature Conservancy have found ways to safely continue their important work during the pandemic.
This information is accurate as of September 25 2020.
