While responsible for delivering the majority of the world's materials to the recycling value chain, informal collectors are also critical to maintaining public health and sanitation. They are often marginalized in their own communities and have limited access to basic needs such as food, education, and healthcare. In Ghana, the COVID-19 pandemic is deeply affecting the lives and livelihoods of the waste collector community and they need immediate support to cope with the crisis.
In the Global South alone, waste pickers account for between 20%-50% of solid waste collection, sorting, and recycling. In Ghana, informal collectors are vital to the local economy yet live day-to-day & struggle to meet their basic needs. COVID-19's harsh impact on the Ghanaian informal collector community has been severe. Underscoring the graveness of the situation, at the Agbogloshie site in Accra, there is little-to-no access to preventative supplies such as PPEs & food shortages are rampant.
A coalition of leading global & Ghanaian NGOs, PYXERA Global, Recycle Up Ghana & The ASASE Foundation have come together to support these underserved communities. Donations will provide immediate safety and economic relief such as rations, PPEs & medical aid (pop-up clinics), while also developing systemic, community-driven solutions such as registration for basic health insurance (NHIS).
There is no "post-COVID" world, there is only a "COVID-ready" world. By supporting this effort, you are helping to secure an important contributor to the Ghanaian economy and alleviating a catastrophic burden of one of Ghana's most vulnerable populations. Your donation recognizes the importance of these workers in sustaining their local economies and safeguarding public health.
