Global Coronavirus Relief

Thank you for supporting ActionAid’s global coronavirusresponse. I’m writing to share some updates on our work. 

Though we are three years out from the start of this pandemic, we continue to double down on important relief efforts. COVID-19 has created a complex and debilitating global public health crisis, exacerbating existing inequalities and creating worsening conditions for marginalized communities around the world. 

For decades, ActionAid and our partners have worked to address the root causes of humanitarian crises and emergencies like this, centering women and girls at the forefront of our efforts, and calling for increased resource mobilization to mount appropriate responses.  

Thanks to your support, you have allowed ActionAid to: 

• Establish a one stop crisis center for sexual and domestic violence survivors in Bhopal, India. Serving as a hub for COVID-19 response, the center has opened a community kitchen and delivers food and sanitation kits to marginalized groups. 
• Distribute life-saving public health information and hygiene kits in places such as Senegal and Bangladesh. 
• Deliver food and hygiene kits to over 2,000 households in Nepal. 
• Disseminate important public health information in Nigeria to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

These are just some of the many ways you have helped make an impact. As this pandemic, and our response, continue to evolve, we want to thank you for continuing to support our work around the world. 

Thank you so much for your support of this project. I’m writing to share some updates from ActionAid’s COVID-19 emergency response. We appreciate you taking the time to learn about and act in response to this crisis.

 As we entered the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we doubled down on our efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere had fair access to vaccines, tests, and treatments. We joined organizations around the world to support a People’s Vaccine and mobilized more than 65,000 individuals to demand the Biden Administration put public health ahead of big pharma profits and increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition to our advocacy, we provided tangible support by continuing to distribute emergency supplies to communities in more than 40 countries, reaching more than 25 million people with direct and indirect services. Relying on longstanding partnerships with local organizations and building on our response from 2020, we sourced and supplied hygiene and disinfection kits, offered gender-based violence trainings, provided psychosocial counselling, and distributed food kits, vouchers, and cash transfers to support people’s immediate needs.

 Some examples of how your support fueled our response:

• In Haiti, 80,000 people received hygiene kits, COVID-19 prevention materials, and unconditional cash transfers.
• Individuals came together to demand fair, rapid, and equitable access to vaccines for nearly 5 million Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza and excluded from Israel’s distribution program.
• In Liberia, 57 communities received regular food and non-food item support, in addition to educational packages for school aged children.
• In Burundi, over 93,000 women and children received handwashing stations, hygiene kits, and COVID-19 health and safety materials.
• In India, 13,601 girls received psychosocial support and counselling. In Nepal, 25,801 families received nutritious, non-perishable items and cooked food, while 885 women received support for vegetable farming.

 As the pandemic continues to evolve, your commitment to human rights matters more than ever. Thank you for your support.

Thank you so much for your support of this project. I’m writing to share some updates from ActionAid’s emergency response for Covid-19. We appreciate you taking the time to learn about and act in response to this crisis.

The pandemic is not over. As variants continue to affect countries around the world, many more lives and livelihoods are at stake. The majority of those affected are women who are working in informal and insecure employment, often the first jobs to be cut in a crisis. 

We know that long-term recovery – like rebuilding and restoring livelihoods - requires long-lasting change. Thanks to your commitment, we’ve been able to support communities with an eye towards the future. We are continuing our work of delivering food and sanitary items, as well as providing resilience training. 

As the pandemic continues to evolve, your commitment to human rights matters more than ever. Thank you for your support.

Hi Friend,

As the Covid-19 crisis continues to evolve, our local women-led teams are reaching over 25 million people across 40 countries. Like all emergencies and humanitarian crises, the pandemic is affecting women and the most marginalized (including homeless populations, informal workers, migrant laborers, and survivors of violence) first and hardest.

While it may seem like the pandemic is starting to come to an end in the United States, other parts of the world won’t see an end to its impacts for many years to come. Already we know that some countries could be waiting until 2024 for widespread vaccination. That’s why our colleagues and partners are doubling down on sharing essential public health information with these vulnerable communities and supporting essential services such as emergency shelters for women at risk of domestic violence. 

In Africa, ActionAid is currently responding in 19 countries. A key component of our response is to scale up awareness raising activities. Through radio and TV broadcasting, we are reaching more than 15 million people with information about Covid-19 and how to prevent the spread.

For example the early days of the pandemic in Ghana brought misinformation, panic, and fear. In response, ActionAid focused on raising awareness in the communities about the virus and busting myths that were preventing people from adhering to safety protocols.  

With time, the dynamics surrounding the disease changed. Our staff and local partners were able to support health facilities to respond more effectively, by providing them with personal protective equipment and pamphlets on best health practices.

Additionally, we were able to provide vulnerable households and families with food items and hygiene kits to increase their resilience against the virus. These kits contain: an 11-pound bag of rice, bottles of oil, reusable masks, soap, sanitary pads, tins of cocoa powder, packs of sugar, and hand sanitizer.

In the midst of these tough circumstances, we are coming together to support our communities and partners around the world.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best,

Francis

Dear Friend,

We were reminded that this month marks one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. Since then, we have seen how inequalities, especially gender inequality and disparities in access to healthcare - vaccines, tests, and treatments, have played a role in increasing the spread of this devastating virus. 

In the midst of a tough year, we came together to support our community partners around the world. Thanks to your solidarity, we were able to respond immediately and support local activists to:

• Distribute over 70 handwashing stations and other hygiene and sanitation supplies in Somaliland to help stop the spread of coronavirus in vulnerable communities.
• Provide sewing machines to Rohingya women living in the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, enabling them to make and sell masks to keep their community safe.
• Deliver soap to 5,000 families and provide vital health information to rural communities in Cambodia in partnership with women leaders from previous disaster management projects.  

The pandemic may seem like it’s coming to an end in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, the most vulnerable won’t see an end to its impacts for years to come. Already we know that some countries could be waiting until 2024 for widespread vaccination. Your support will help bridge the gap - and strengthen the fight for human rights.

Thank youforsupporting women on the frontlines of COVID-19. 

In gratitude,
Francis

Francis Noon
Individual Giving Officer, ActionAid USA