COVID-19 Portal Update

COVID-19 increases the vulnerability of people living in areas impacted by the adverse effects of climate change. As climate change makes disasters more likely, it is imperative to understand the challenges brought on by the pandemic and consider any necessary adaptations to humanitarian disaster preparedness and response measures. This week, we're sharing a key brief and two examples of climate disasters during COVID-19, as well as two upcoming events.

This brief by UNHCR and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research highlights the linkages between COVID-19, displacement and climate change. It presents key facts and an overview of key compound risks as a consequence of these linkages.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has published a study looking at the cascading risks from climate extremes and COVID-19 in South Asia. The study outlines specific cascading risks across the region and shares three key messages for making sure that the most vulnerable are protected during the pandemic.

Bangladesh has been devastated with one of the worst and longest-lasting flooding in recent years, and this report by the Flood Resilience Alliance looks at the latest situation in vulnerable communities.  Through remote online discussions, the report produces findings that show the necessity of improved support as cases of COVID-19 rise simultaneously.

With country borders across the globe tightening up and limiting mobility, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on vulnerable migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The impact means responses must consider how to ensure the safety of these populations. This week, we are sharing three recent resources that look at the effects of the pandemic on migrants and refugees in different parts of the world, and provide insight into how humanitarian organisations and governments alike can adapt to increase protection.

This IFRC report looks to answer fundamental questions about the safety of migrants during COVID-19 and calls for inclusive action to improve protection. Several barriers to their safety are identified and a particularly reoccurring challenge is the way in which national responses and legal frameworks exclude migrants and therefore increase risk during a time of heightened uncertainty. 

The Organization of American States has released a report detailing the current situation of Venezuelans who have returned and are trying to return in the context of COVID-19. The pandemic has resulted in a significant number of Venezuelans returning to their country, with Colombia and Brazil setting up humanitarian corridors to facilitate returns, but the criminalisation of those returnees has aggravated existing vulnerabilities and made the importance of action greater.

Efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 has impacted migrants along the Central Mediterranean Route on different levels. This report by IMREF under DFID looks at the challenges faced by migrants through a mixture of desk reviews, surveys and interviews with stranded migrants and key informants. Through those data sources, the report clearly outlines changes to mobility patterns, vulnerabilities and access to health and protection services.

The nature of the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of national and local actors in responding effectively to the pandemic. However, the question is whether this increased focus can lead to systemic change in the humanitarian sector. This week's newsletter shares 3 resources looking at the importance of localisation in responding to COVID-19 and the challenges local actors face. You can also find upcoming events and other recent resources.

This briefing note by the Humanitarian Policy Group looks at the early implications of COVID-19 for driving systemic change towards more local humanitarian action and leadership, and more complementarity between international and local actors. It outlines the challenges to increasing localisation and how the pandemic can be turned into an opportunity for overdue systematic change.

As part of Groupe URD's COVID-19 Observatory, this briefing note looks at how local solutions have come to light during the crisis and why they should lead to reflection and rethinking of existing aid models. The brief particularly calls on donors to provide flexible and long-term financial support in order to increase the influence of local organisations.

This paper provides a snapshot of the Covid-19 response to date in terms of access to funding, partnerships and decision-making for women-led organisations (WLO) and women's right organisations (WROs). Authored by a number of INGOs partnered with local and national WLO/WROs, the paper provides a series of recommendations for how to increase political and financial support for WLOs and WROs.

Nearly 6 months have passed since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and the spread has had significant repercussions in the humanitarian sector. This week, we're sharing resources that reflect upon the humanitarian response and provide holistic guidance going forward. You can also find upcoming events and other recent resources as usual.

Accompanying the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2020, Development Initiatives hosted this webinar to discuss humanitarian support to the COVID-19 response. Following a presentation of relevant findings from the report, a panel from across the sector discuss their perspectives on COVID-19 financing and the wider implications for crisis financing.

Following the Global Humanitarian Response Plan from late March, UN OCHA has published a progress report summarising the collective response to the humanitarian impacts of COVID-19 in the 63 countries covered by the response plan. The progress report provides updates on the operational context and the necessary programme adjustments, as well as on funding, sectors, strategic priorities and more.

WHO has developed a guidance document to guide countries to conduct periodic review(s) of their national and subnational COVID-19 response. The guidance document outlines the purpose, scope and approach to conduct the reviews.

Cities are the epicentre of the pandemic, because of which it is crucial that the complexities of urban areas are taken into account in humanitarian responses. Informal settlements in particular have vulnerabilities that invoke significant risk during COVID-19. This week, we've highlighted three key resources on urban response under COVID-19, and you can also find a list of upcoming COVID-19 related webinars and recent resources.

This policy brief by World Vision outlines the risks of COVID-19 to children in urban contexts due to the challenges of protecting against the virus in urban slums, informal settlements and low-income neighbourhoods. Children suffer disproportionately from the difficult living conditions in these spaces, and World Vision has outlined recommendations in this brief for national and local governments, UN agencies, NGOs and donors to best mitigate these risks.

This paper highlights the major challenges and considerations for addressing COVID-19 in informal settlements. It discusses vulnerabilities in a number of different areas and potential health impacts in such settings and looks at how to support local actions and strategy to ensure that responses to COVID-19 do not repeat historical mistakes of stigmatising informal settlements and their residents.

The United Nations has produced a policy brief looking at the challenges in urban areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cities are the epicentre of the pandemic, and it is crucial that conscious policy choices are made to ensure that they navigate through the crisis efficiently. This brief provides a set of recommendations touching upon inequalities, local capacities, a green inclusive recovery and more.

COVID-19 is threatening the food security of millions of people around the world. Global supply chains have been disrupted, and coupled with income losses, access to food has become an even bigger challenge during the pandemic. You can find 3 resources identifying food security, agriculture and nutrition issues in this week's newsletter. 

This UN policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition emphasises how the pandemic has exacerbated existing food security issues for hundreds of millions of people who were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition. The brief suggests three sets of actions to address the immediate, near- and medium-term needs to protect people during and beyond the crisis, and to ultimately reshape and build resilient food systems.

Groupe URD's COVID Observatory has released this briefing note on agriculture and food security during COVID-19. It analyses key issues behind the growing threat on food security, and presents proposals for action on agricultural reform, strengthening supply chains and providing financial assistance.

The International Food Policy Research Institute has compiled a selection of blog entries from their extensive COVID-19 blog series which serves to provide key insights and analysis on how the pandemic affects global poverty and food security. The entries range in focus from labour restrictions and remittances to gendered impacts, and constitutes a great source of insights on COVID-19 and food security.

The pandemic has exacerbated the vulnerability and marginalisation of people with disabilities, making it critical that they are not left behind in COVID-19 humanitarian response and recovery. This week's newsletter includes 3 recent resources that provide clear recommendations for humanitarian actors to ensure disability-inclusive action is taken.

UN's policy brief on a disability-inclusive response to COVID-19 highlights the pandemic's impact on people with disabilities on a global scale across a variety of sectors. By doing so, they manage to pinpoint the actions needed on a sectoral level to make the response inclusive and examine how this contributes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Handicap International has collected and reviewed evidence in this study to illustrate how COVID-19 triggers disproportionate risks and barriers for people with disabilities. The study draws on data and testimonies from a plethora of different humanitarian settings which provides the foundation for a clear set of recommendations to all humanitarian actors in their actions.

OCHA has written an article emphasising the importance of supporting people with disabilities and provides guidance in 6 steps for humanitarian actors

Women and girls face specific risks during a crisis due to gender role expectations and sexual violence. The humanitarian response to COVID-19 must take steps to prevent and mitigate gender based violence. This week, we highlight resources that can help with this, as well as two upcoming COVID-19 webinars.

UN Women has released a briefing note that presents the emerging evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on violence against women and girls. The brief sets out recommendations for all sectors of society, from governments and multilateral institutions to civil society organisations, private companies, and donors.

A United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) document provides practical guidance to support frontline gender-based violence (GBV) service providers. As the COVID-19 pandemic is seen to have a negative impact on GBV trends, the guidance note provides useful and concrete steps to be taken.

CARE has published a paper which analyses gender implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in development and humanitarian settings across a range of sectors. The paper also provides specific recommendations to health service delivery actors, development and humanitarian organisations, national governments and donors to ensure that gender implications are considered in COVID-19 responses.

In upcoming events, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), IPC professional societies and Project ECHO have been hosting a weekly webinar series for infection prevention and control (IPC) in healthcare settings. This upcoming webinar will be the last in the series. Recordings of previous webinars can be found here.

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative is running an on-going webinar series to look at how we can continue to build resilience in urban environments during an era of pandemic, climate emergency and rapid urbanisation. An upcoming webinar will look at the scale of corruption in fuelling disasters, and what realistically can be done to make a difference, especially to those most vulnerable in towns and cities.

One of many devastating consequences of the pandemic is the exacerbation of the vulnerable conditions children face across the world. This week, you can find recent resources from our COVID-19 response portal that address the effects of the pandemic on children, as well as two upcoming webinars on responding to disasters during a pandemic and on COVID-19 response financing.

World Vision has conducted rapid assessments in 24 countries across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to inform this report on the socio-economic fallout of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The findings confirm alarming predictions of increased child hunger, violence, and poverty due to the economic impact of COVID-19, and provides urgent recommendations for governments, UN agencies, donors and NGOs alike.

In this technical note published by The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, End Violence Against Children, UNICEF and WHO, issues faced by children during the pandemic are explored through reports from the field. The note also proposes a set of actions to prevent violence, abuse and neglect of children while emphasising the need for contextual considerations. In addition to the paper, you can also find the accompanying launch webinar here.

Cities are on the frontline of the COVID-19 Pandemic. And children suffer disproportionally from the impacts of measures taken in response to COVID-19. World Vision has produced a policy brief that outlines the specific risks children face in urban contexts and provides separate recommendations for national and local governments, UN agencies, NGOs and donors.

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children is important in a crisis otherwise shaped by health messages about the risk for older people. You can find three relevant resources highlighted below.

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action has released a technical note to support child protection practitioners and policy makers. The note outlines children’s specific protection needs during COVID-19 and possible response and recovery options.

The Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action has also produced a guidance note to assist humanitarian actors. The note emphasises the importance of understanding the impact on young people, particularly young refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs and migrants.

Core Group has produced a broad guide on home-based care with specific recommendations for nonprofits, Red Cross Red Crescent network and community organizations who are designing programs and materials in response to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. One of the focus areas of the guide is how to care for children during the pandemic.

In upcoming events, the IFRC is hosting a webinar this Friday 26 June on how to rethink urban community risk reduction and resilience while responding to COVID-19. The speakers will draw from experience in their national Red Crescent societies.

On the same day, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) will look at community-based disaster risk reduction approaches with speakers from civil society organisations from different geographical contexts.

Local responders play a critical role during COVID-19 given their ability to act fast and maintain delivery while travel restrictions exist. This week, we’re highlighting resources relating to localisation.

The Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) recently launched their report calling for local humanitarian action with a webinar discussing the impact of COVID-19 on localisation. Does COVID-19 present an opportunity for a reset of the humanitarian system or are things business as usual?

The Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) has released interim guidance with IFRC and UNICEF on how the humanitarian sector can adapt its delivery modalities in response to COVID-19 consistent with existing commitments on localisation of aid. The guidance particularly looks into responsible partnership practices between international organisations and local actors.

The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) has published a paper that looks into the specific context of Tanzania for localisation. It outlines the opportunities and challenges for localisation initiatives and provides specific recommendations, many of which are applicable to promoting further localisation in other contexts as well.

In upcoming events, the Grand Bargain Localisation Workstream is hosting a webinar on localisation in the context of COVID-19. The pandemic’s implications have made the existing international commitments on localisation, particularly those in the Grand Bargain, much more urgent. The webinar will look at how we can walk the talk on objectives to increase localisation.

ODI is looking at the adolescent refugee challenges under COVID-19 amidst concerns that the pandemic response will leave many adolescent refugees behind. Drawing on real-time interviews, the panellists will examine age- and gender specific vulnerabilities.

COVID-19 disproportionally affects marginalised populations. This week we’re highlighting resources that outline some of the repercussions for migrants and IDPs.

Armed conflict in 19 countries has displaced at least 661,000 people between 23 March and 25 May 2020. The NRC has produced a report which shows the heightened risks for conflict-affected people also now faced with COVID-19 in seven  country case studies.

The Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action has produced a guidance note to assist humanitarian actors, youth-led organisations and young people themselves. The note explores the impact of COVID-19 on young peopleparticularly young refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs and migrants. It oulines how COVID-19 responses can ensure they are are relevant to youth, and involve the participation and capacities of young people. It calls for adequate resources and data to be made available on how COVID-19 is affecting young people.

IOM has produced a toolkit  with practical tools for integrating migration into COVID-19 focused development programmes. It outlines the entry points for integrating migration and provides tools for development actors to use throughout the design, implementation and monitoring of socio-economic development programmes.

In upcoming events, ODI is hosting a webinar which looks at the responses of armed groups to the pandemic, from the Taliban to gangs in Rio de Janeiro, and the implications that their responses have for humanitarian responses, peacebuilding efforts and development aid.