Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
31 March 2021
Post No. 189
The Week’s Contents
• Coming in April 2021: Protection against Enduring Coronavirus
• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3 and Protection against Covid-19
• Advisory Support and Spring Project to Build Back Better from the Coronavirus
… and much more!
Key Messages
• Coming in April 2021: Protection against Enduring Coronavirus
This April, we will continue the protection work against the coronavirus pandemic since the coronavirus pandemic is still life-threatening and destroying despite the amount of efforts that have been deployed to reduce its far-reaching impacts.
We are doing it in the context of building back and forward better programmes which we recently set up. All this exercise is about saving, rebuilding and sustaining lives, infrastructures and institutions.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have expanded a bit more about the month of protection for this year.
• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3 and Protection against Covid-19
Our initiative about Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Phase 3 (CPSAC – P.3) with the sub-theme of ‘Glasgow Steps It Up’ has also been affected by the on-going global health crisis brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
During this month of protection, we will continue to virtually discuss the preparation of CPSAC – P.3 while exploring ways of improving the measures against Covid-19 we so far integrated into our climate protection campaign.
In this virtual exercise, both climate protection and COVID-19 protection need to be understood although they are now colloquial.
• • Meaning of Climate Protection and COVID-19 Protection
By climate protection, we mean the following definition as given by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (1), which is
‘the protection of climate and the ozone layer are measures to control the emissions of greenhouse gases and gases that adversely affect the stratospheric ozone layer (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and halons)’.
As to COVID-19 protection (2), it is about
‘preventing and slowing down transmission of the coronavirus pandemic by being well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. It is further about protecting yourself and others from COVID-19 infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face’.
In the light of the above definitions, we are going to carry on our work by combining both climate protection (on the one hand) and health and economic protection measures against Covid-19 (on the other hand) in order to figure out how we can best protect future generations against the continuing life-threatening and -destroying impacts of both climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
To find out more about this simultaneous protection against the adverse impacts of climate change and Covid-19, please contact CENFACS.
• Advisory Support and Spring Project to Build Back Better from the Coronavirus
Due to the special character of Spring 2020, we set up two coronavirus-related relief and protection initiatives (i.e. poverty-relief and protection initiatives related to the coronavirus pandemic crisis) which were: Virtual Support during the Coronavirus Pandemic Crisis (VSCP) and The Coronavirus Spring Project (CSP)
The VSCP is a non-physical and contactless relief support designed to help those in emergency challenge in the UK while the CSP is a health-enhancing and humanitarian effort that is meant to assist people in need in Africa during the continuing threats of the coronavirus pandemic.
Both initiatives, which are a charitable fight against the coronavirus pandemic, were set up to ease the difficulties that poor people and communities have been facing, as well as to support the rebuilding or recovery processes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
This March 2021, we have reviewed the two coronavirus-related relief and protection initiatives in the light of the situation of the coronavirus and the state of lockdowns. As a result of this review, we have come out with the improved versions of each of these initiatives.
The review of VSCP has led to Advisory Support to Build Back Better from the Coronavirus (ASBBBC). The ASBBBC has retained some aspects of the VSCP that can be useful for users; aspects such as needs assessment, advocacy, signposting, referrals, etc. It also contains social mobility tips and hints, resilience recipes, climate-related capacity building and built-in green alignment features to CO2 emission goals and targets.
The review of CSP has resulted in Spring Project of Building Back Better from the Coronavirus (SPBBBC). This upgraded version of CSP includes many poverty relief fixers, zero-carbon solutions/carbon neutrality targets and climate smart tools to build back better greener and cleaner.
These two coronavirus-related relief and protection initiatives (that is VSCP and CSP) take our coronavirus-related work on poverty relief and sustainable development with users to the next level, the level within the current contexts of the coronavirus, lockdowns and economic rebuilding.
To enquire about the above two protection initiatives, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Coronavirus and Build Back Better Donations Needed!
At the beginning of this Spring Relief season, we would like to take this opportunity to communicate to you our need of donations which is now greater than ever before. The coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns have put serious pressure on the finances and other areas of operations of many organisations including ourselves.
We have reset up two Coronavirus-related Relief and Protection Initiatives (i.e. Advisory Support and Spring Project to Build Back Better from the Coronavirus) to help in this difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.
We need donations to help those affected by both health crisis and lockdowns so that they can properly start the work of building back better.
We know that some of you have their income dropped because of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures. However, for those who can, please do not hesitate to support as the need is still pressing and the stakes are still higher at this time.
You could be a life-saver or changer this Spring.
We look forward to your support. Many thanks!
• End of March 2021 Take Away from Climate Action Working Days
CENFACS remains determined in campaigning to keep climate change on the agenda during the coronavirus crisis and beyond. Our Climate Action Working Days which have come to an end are part of this determination.
During these working days, we focused on four key climate actions from every Wednesdays of this month as follows:
√ STOPPING jumps in greenhouse gas emissions during and after the full reopening of economies and societies after lockdowns (Action no. 1 held from 03/03/2021 to 09/03/2021)
√ REDUCING pollution and COVID-19 induced climate issues (Action no. 2 held from 10/03/2021 to 16/03/2021)
√ PREVENTING financial de-prioritisation of climate change (Action no. 3 held from 17/03/2021 to 23/03/2021)
√ ENDING any inaction of climate change actions (Action no. 4 held from 24/03/2021 to 30/03/2021)
The following are the takeaways from March 2021 Climate Action.
1st take away
To stay on track with climate action and stop COVID-19 to become a severe drain for work on climate change, both COVID-19 induced poverty and climate-led poverty need to be tackled.
2nd take away
Climate action is about translating words into concrete actions to reduce pollution (particularly but not exclusively plastic pollution) as a long term sustainable development goal.
3rd take away
The fight against the coronavirus pandemic should not be opposed to the need to prioritise the climate change issues.
4th take away
To make climate action inclusive and end climate inaction, there is a need to stop digital, information and communication poverty that COVID-19 and inappropriate lockdown measures may have exacerbated.
For more details about the outcomes of CENFACS’ March Climate Action Working Days 2021, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Africa-based Sister Organisations and COVID-19 Financial Protection and Support
This week, we are as well working on financial protection or support for our Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs). Like any organisation suffering from the financial effects of the coronavirus and associated lockdowns, many of our ASOs have appealed for financial help and support to continue their not-for-profit activities.
However, only a tiny of their appeals have been listened to and responded. One can understand both national and international climate we are in as many non-essential economic activities have been closed and many private donors and funders are themselves experiencing difficulties during this challenging time of the coronavirus and lockdowns. At the same time, there were many financial pledges to support their activities.
So, following on these appeals and financial pledges, we are looking at how many of these ASOs have succeeded in raising funds and how many of these pledges have been converted into financial help.
As the coronavirus endures, it is worth to know that funding is reaching those organisations that are striving to make Africa a better place for those in most need through deserving causes. Basically our work on this matter is about how many valuable and credible appeals were made and how many responses to those appeals from donors and funders (be it national or international or public or private) were converted into real financial help.
This is because in time of serious global crisis like the current coronavirus pandemic, there could be a tendency to have countless financial schemes on the market that are allegedly designed to help. But, in reality only few of them are available and especially can reach those organisations and people who are really in need.
This week’s work raises the debate or discrepancy between supply and demand of finance in the not-for-profit sector, especially in time of stiff crisis like the coronavirus pandemic. Many worthy causes run by these organisations are struggling to get the funding they need.
For those ASOs that may be interested in this topic of COVID-19 financial protection and support, they can let CENFACS know.
Main Development
• Protection against Enduring Coronavirus
As the coronavirus endures, there is still a growing need of protection for both the community in the UK and other communities in Africa. In this context of enduring COVID-19, there is a mixed picture of responses. In some places, the coronavirus does not show any signs of abating while in others economies and societies are emerging from it in the rockiest manner despite some words of encouragement and consolation. Because of the above conflicting pictures of realities and reactions, our Month of Protection will be again about the coronavirus pandemic, about its continuing health, economic, environmental and community impacts.
However, since CENFACS is specialised in poverty reduction and sustainable development, the kind of protection (against or from the coronavirus reality) on which we shall focus on in this month will be that relates to poor people and natural species. In this respect, we will consider the following in our protection work during the Month of Protection:
√ Those who need protection the most during the time of enduring coronavirus and lockdowns
√ Protective equipment
√ Our systems, infrastructures and structures of network of protection and support for the CENFACS Community
√ The next context and frontiers in terms of life threats and risks despite the rolling out of COVID-19 vaccines
√ Protection lessons for learning and development since we embarked on protection against the coronavirus
√ Our experience about protecting CENFACS’ services, activities and the entire CENFACS’ machinery
Let us briefly look at one by one those areas of our protection work for the April Month of Protection.
• Areas of focus for April 2021 of Protection
(a) Those who need protection the most during the time of enduring coronavirus and lockdowns
During the month of April 2021, we are going to work on coronavirus-related poverty issues and emerging challenges that people and the community are still facing despite the rolling out of vaccines. Amongst these people, there are:
√ Low income families
√ Refugees and asylum seekers
√ Those who are suffering from isolation
√ Other unprotected people experiencing sanitary and food poverty
√ Digital, information and communication poor
√ Those who simply do not fit within the punitive financial bailout criteria
√ Those suffering from any kind of poverty related to the coronavirus and lockdowns
Etc.
We will be working with them through the two Coronavirus-related Relief and Protection Initiatives (i.e. Advisory Support and Spring Project to Build Back Better from the Coronavirus) we have just set up to help in this challenging time of enduring coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.
(b) Personal Protective equipment
We are as well going to reconsider protective equipment, tools, systems, infrastructures and creative measures in order to shield ourselves and those around us from the coronavirus pandemic and its endangered conditions and impacts. It is also about the protective equipment we need to build back better from the coronavirus and lockdowns.
(c) Our systems, infrastructures and structures of network of protection and support for the CENFACS Community
We are going to rethink our social systems, our community network of protection and support (such as the CENFACS Community) as well as our structures and infrastructures of protection in the light of the new type of enduring coronavirus and lockdowns.
(d) The next context and frontiers in terms of life threats and risks despite the rolling out of COVID-19 vaccines
The current context in which we are in is of enduring coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns that require us to review the boundaries of our protection system. This has brought as well a new opportunity for our protection month to explore creative and innovative ways as well as new dimensions for enhancing our protection strategy. We can only do this if we think about the kind of new knowledge, skills, capabilities and know-how suitable for the current challenge.
(e) Protection lessons for learning and development since we embarked on protection against the coronavirus
This month, we will as well try to draw some protection lessons for learning and development in terms of our health, safety and well-being policy and practice, particularly but not especially, in terms of our members and service users.
(f) Our experience about protecting CENFACS’ services, activities and the entire CENFACS’ machinery
In the light of the coronavirus crisis and what we have so far done to protect our work, we will try to find out what we can further learn about ways of protecting our services, activities (e.g. between essential and non-essential ones) and the entire machinery of CENFACS as an organisation in the future.
For example, we learnt from this health crisis how we can try to find alternative ways of delivering services and meeting people needs in times of crisis. We can now think of way of improving this sort of service delivery as reference for future threats and crisis.
As part of this protection process, we can rethink of way of reshaping the function of health and safety in CENFACS to make it even ready and capable for future threats, risks and crisis.
To deliver on the above protection focus, we have arranged the following protection notes.
• Key notes for April Month of Protection 2021
We have selected four key notes to make up our April theme of protection against the enduring coronavirus pandemic. They are as follows:
These notes will be developed starting every Mondays of April 2021 as scheduled above.
Besides that we have organised our other works and campaigns around the coronavirus issue as well as around the things that matter for those in need in times of health crisis like this current one, as previously highlighted in CENFACS’ Spring Relief 2021 planner. One of these areas of interest in protection is the protection of natural species (like the African elephants).
• Protection of African Elephants
During April 2021, we are going to reactivate our BIG BEASTS Campaign through the protection of the African Forest Elephant species which is now in serious danger and growing risk of extinction. The BIBG BEASTS Campaign is about reducing losses and risks towards fauna while maintaining basic natural conditions and values for their survival.
Indeed, both the African Forest Elephant and the African Savannah Elephant are endangered as their population continues to decline. There are several reasons that can explain this decline. Amongst them, the majority of research highlights poaching for ivory and loss of habitat to be the two main reasons. In these circumstances, there is a need to reinforce the application and monitoring of the measures set up within the framework of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
For any enquiries and or queries about our work on the BIG BEASTS, particularly on the protection of African elephants, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
For any further details about CENFACS’ Month of Protection, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
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References
(1) Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2001), Glossary of Environment Statistics, Studies in Methods Series F, No. 67, United Nations, New York, 1997 (https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/details.asp?ID=2183)
(2) https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
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One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
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Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2021 and beyond.
With many thanks.
