Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
25 November 2020
Post No. 171
The Week’s Contents
• Health Economics for the Poor (Sanitation Poverty-relieving Project)
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 7 – In Focus for Week Beginning 23/11/2020: Finance for Ecology
• Skills to Cope with Financial and Economic Pressure from COVID-19 and Lockdowns – Skills Focus from Wednesday 25/11/2020: Income-Making and –Saving Skills
… and much more!
Key Messages
• Health Economics for the Poor (Sanitation Poverty-relieving Project)
The Project of Sanitation Relief or Health Economics for the Poor, which is part of CENFACS’ Autumn Starting XI Projects, is designed to help improve the cost-effectiveness of healthcare provision to the poor in terms of positive health outcomes at the level of organisations that implement this project.
This project reflects the circumstances of the time of the coronavirus pandemic. As the various components of this project will show below, the project seeks to address sanitation poverty not only now, but also in the post-pandemic period.
Sanitation itself is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal targets (1). Particularly, Goal 3 target relates to the access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all; and Goal 6 target refers to access to basic sanitation services such as toilets or latrines.
Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has made the problem of sanitation to resurface and be at the centre of health and economic development debate and policy making. To deal with it and following the demand from our Africa-based Sister Organisations, we have developed this project.
Under the Main Development section of the post, you will find more details about this project.
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign, Note No. 7 – In Focus for Week Beginning 23/11/2020: Finance for Ecology
Finance for Ecology includes what the banks, other financial institutions, investors and actors can do to drive forward the agenda on the restoration of ecosystem infrastructures. In this drive, financial markets and instruments are also part of the game.
At practical level of the “A la une” Campaign, this Note No. 7 is about what all the above players did and will continue to do to support the restoration conducted by African Organisations, amongst them are CENFACS’ Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs). This simply means that CENFACS working together with ASOs can continue the organised series of environmental actions under the “A la une” Campaign to gain support for substantial financial resources to be directed or redirected towards the goal of restoration of ecosystem infrastructures in Africa.
It is true that at this challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic, health and economy are the top of priorities. However, our action on finance to restore the ecosystem infrastructures is not only for this week or now. It is for the post-coronavirus poverty relief and sustainable development. In other words, the financial needs to improve the restoration of ecosystem infrastructures will still remain amongst other priorities of the future.
Briefly, undertaking action to finance the restoration of ecosystem infrastructures is relevant now during the coronavirus pandemic time as it will be in the post-coronavirus sustainable development world.
To support this Note No. 7 and action on the Finance for Ecology, please contact CENFACS.
• Skills to Cope with Financial and Economic Pressure from COVID-19 and Lockdowns – Skills Focus from Wednesday 25/11/2020: Income-Making and –Saving Skills
Our month of Economics of Education and Skill Formation (or Skills Development) is still on course with attention devoted on Income-Making and –Saving Skills this week. Let us look at these skills.
• • Income-Making Skills
Income-making skills are productive capacities that can be turned or converted into an actionable marketable product. There are lots of skills related to income making (e.g. CV writing, knitting, soap making, making of face coverings against the coronavirus pandemic, etc.).
Of particular importance amongst the skills to make or increase your income is the skill to follow income or financial news and information that may benefit you. This is because sometimes there is support for those on low income, but some of them may not know this support exists for them, especially at this difficult time of the coronavirus and lockdown in which every of these people is literally looking for financial support to make ends meet.
Challengingly, at this time we are mostly interested in income-making skills that help to break through the double constraint of COVID-19 and lockdowns. There are many sources of information on internet that give many ways or skills that one can use to make income in order to cope with financial and economic pressure from COVID-19 and lockdowns.
• • Income-Saving Skills
These are the capacities to set income aside for future use. One can put aside other items than just money. One can save on foods, drinks and other household items.
At this time of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, income-saving skills could be crucial since no one knows when the battle against the coronavirus will be over. Therefore, the capacity to save on any income to meet basic life-sustaining needs is vital.
Like for income-making, there are a lot of online and print resources that provide ways of saving income in normal and exceptional time of the coronavirus pandemic. These resources are easily accessible for everyone. For those who are having some problems in accessing them, CENFACS can still assist them.
For any queries and or enquiries about this week’s Skills Focus, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Integrating Climate Advocacy and Nature Campaign
The 26th Session of the Conference to the Parties (CO26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was expected to take place from 9 to 20 November 2020 at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow. Although these United Nations climate talks have been postponed for next year, this postponement does not mean we should not continue our process of advocating better climate deals for children.
Our Climate Advocacy under the Project Climate Talks Follow-up and sub-project “Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3” will carry on. As part of this continuation, we are integrating our Climate Advocacy and our Nature Campaign. The Climate Advocacy is being conducted through Climate Talks Follow-up Project while Nature Campaign has been undertaken via the theme of the Upkeep of the Nature.
Through the integration of the two, we are looking at if there are some synergies between the two (climate advocacy and nature campaign). Using an integrative approach, it is possible to identify some interconnectedness between the goal of the upkeep of the nature and that of keeping global average temperature rise this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It is as well conceivable to associate the upkeep of the nature and the meeting of the needs for climate protection and stake for children, particularly but not exclusively African children.
In the context of this year’s “A la une” Campaign, we are analysing if there is any link between the restoration of ecosystem infrastructures on the one hand and climate protection and stake for those in need on the other. In other words, we are searching on the idea that the restoration of ecosystem infrastructures should not happen at the expense of the need for climate protection and stake for children and generations to come.
For those who would like to find out more about this integration of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy and Nature Campaign, they can contact CENFACS.
• 4-week Lockdown 2 Programme: Coronavirus Support Finder
Our Four-Weeks-Lockdown-Two Programme is still on course this November 2020. As part of this short programme, we are offering to the community a basic autumnal service to find support to deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
We have noticed that many people have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Some of them know where to get support whereas others do not know or simply they are not aware of existing support. There are those who are accessing the different types of support available now on the market to resolve their problems. There are also those who are still waiting for the end of lockdown in order to address the problems they have.
Through the Coronavirus Support Finder, which is part of this programme and our advice services, it is possible to work with those who would like to take action now to deal with their problems. The Coronavirus Support Finder will help them get or be directed to the right support they need at this challenging time. Also, this support is jointly giving with our Cube of Protection against the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Need to find what types of support available for the problem you are experienced in relation to COVID-19, please do not hesitate to CENFACS.
• CENFACS’ Health Dashboard
CENFACS’ Health Dashboard, which has been updated on the 25/11/2020, is a graphical user interface giving CENFACS’ performance in terms of projects, services, activities, events and enquiries during this time of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
As far as projects and services are concerned, they are running at reduced capacity and pace as we are complying with travel restrictions and we are not meeting beneficiaries physically. Also, many of our Africa-based Sister Organisations are experiencing disruption about their activities on the grounds during this challenging time.
As for events, we are not holding any internal physical events, just as we are not attending any external physical events. We only respond to events held virtually or remotely or even online.
It is important to stress that at this difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic, many of our users need advice. Our advice is fully functioning, especially in matters relating to the health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. If anyone needs advice, they can access our advice services via phone, text, e-mail and contact form.
For any other queries or enquiries about this dashboard, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Main Development
• Health Economics for the Poor (Sanitation Poverty-relieving Project)
Before giving you the idea of the components of this project, let us check some facts about sanitation in Africa. We are going to do it through what is said about the state of sanitation in Africa.
• • What is said about sanitation in Africa?
• • • The State of Sanitation in Africa
The United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organisation (2) argue the following:
“An estimated 213 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school in which there is no sanitation facility at all” (p. 43)
“Analysis of data from rural schools in 12 Sub-Saharan African countries revealed that many school toilets did not meet criteria for accessibility, quality or acceptability” (p. 44)
“In the Sub-Saharan African countries with data, 29 per cent of health care facilities had no sanitation service” (p. 47)
The African organisations with whom CENFACS deals are operating in Africa where the above sanitation estimations and data analysis apply. One can assume that the project beneficiaries of these organisations are also included in these data.
• • • What are Africa-based Organisations arguing about sanitation?
Many organisations that CENFACS deal with have acknowledged the issue relating to the lack of safe sanitation facilities in places where they work, especially in rural poor areas where sanitation facilities are sometimes perceived as a luxury. They have also pointed out the problem of safe drinking water and hygiene. In this respect, the coronavirus crisis has just exposed what was already known to many Africans for many years.
These data and the testimonials from our Africa-based Sister Organisations working on the grounds have helped us to plan and develop the basic elements that define Health Economics for the Poor (Sanitation Poverty-relieving Project) .
• • Basic components of Health Economics for the Poor
The following are the key highlights of the Health Economics for the Poor.
• • • Project Aim
The Health Economic for the Poor (Sanitation Poverty-relieving Project) is a sanitation poverty-relieving initiative that addresses a set of sanitation and hygiene deprivations that may affect poor people or households in the areas of Africa where CENFACS operates.
As sanitation cannot be tackled without including water and hygiene, the project will have a multi-dimensional perspective. In other words, the project will consider various elements contributing to sanitation poverty such as lack of access to basic water and hygienic services.
Through this project, CENFACS hopes to work with local people and organisations in Africa to help reduce the lack of standards in health and preserve healthy life and well-being while empowering them to control the spread of infectious diseases such as the coronavirus pandemic.
• • • Objectives
The Sanitation Project, which uses the contents and tenets of the Human Right to Sanitation as an approach, has the following key objectives:
√ Tackle multi-dimensional sanitation poverty at people and local levels
√ Reduce the lack of access to an improved sanitation
√ Cut down the health impacts of poor sanitation such as stunting
√ Protect poor people’s essential economy
√ Promote good health amongst local people
√ Prevent the spread of diseases (such as COVID-19 and other ones)
√ Protect the environment from waste disposal
The above are the statements about how the project aim will be achieved. These objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based.
• • • Beneficiaries
Generally, the beneficiaries of this project will be the local people making the community that our Africa-based Sister Organisations are working with.
Specifically, the project will benefit local people without access to improved sanitation facilities (e.g. flush/pour flush latrine), to safe sanitation, to basic hand washing facilities, etc.
• • • Activities
Under the full project proposals, a number of activities have been planned for a successful implementation of the project. Amongst these activities are: awareness sanitation campaign, workshop sessions on sanitation, training on sanitation and hygiene, etc.
• • • Project average capital cost per beneficiary
It is estimated that the average capital cost per beneficiary to gain access to safely managed sanitation is US$28 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The project will use this average cost as an indicator for project fundraising and implementation purposes. Therefore, we would like to ask to any potential supporter or donor who are willing to donate or support otherwise to have this cost in their mind.
• • • Impact monitoring and evaluation
As part of impact monitoring, there will be routine gathering of information on all aspects of the project. In other words, we will systematically collect and analyse information to keep regular checks and balances on the project.
Likewise, we shall assess what the project will achieve in relation to the overall objectives it was set up. This is to say that evaluation will be conducted regarding the efforts spent on this project to find out whether or not these efforts are value for relief from sanitation and hygiene deprivations.
In proceeding in this manner, we will be able to measure the impact or at least the outcomes from this project.
• • • Outcomes
The following are the expected measurable positive health changes or indicators that may be achieved from this project:
√ Increase in the number of sanitation facilities
√ Improvement of sanitary conditions amongst local people
√ Raising of the quantity and quality of hand-washing facilities and soaps
√ Boost in the number of people with improved sanitation facilities
√ Enhancement of safety and security of hygienic facilities
√ Reduction of the number of ill persons due to poor sanitation
√ Amelioration of water and hygienic services as indirect effect of this project
√ Progress of project users’ productivity as another indirect effect of this project
Etc.
The full project proposals including budget are available on request. It is known that this time of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown is a difficult one. However, for those who may be interested in this project, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
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References
(2) United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization (2020), State of the World’s Sanitation: An urgent call to transform sanitation for better health, environments, economies and societies. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization, 2020. (State-of-the-world’s-sanitation-2020.pdf)
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With many thanks.
