Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

14 April 2021

 

Post No. 191

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Mid-April 2021 Message of Hopes as the Coronavirus Endures 

• Protection against the Negative Delayed Effects of the Coronavirus and Lockdowns 

• Protection of the Acutely Food-insecure People in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Sahel

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Mid-April 2021 Message of Hopes as the Coronavirus Endures

 

To All of our Supporters and Users,

 

We hope that everybody is having a good Easter season despite the enduring coronavirus.

We shall continue to engage with you whether you are self-isolated or confined or locked down or working or just staying home or have recently resumed your outdoor activity during this time.  Our engagement will be mostly via CENFACS’ various physically contactless means and no close-contact services.

We trust that everybody is continuing to follow the proscribed health measures and safety guidance to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic where they are based to save lives and healthcare systems.  This following of health measures and safety guidance should be done regardless of the COVID-19 vaccine rolling out (or jabbing) and the non-essential retail restrictions easing.

We would like take this opportunity to thank everybody who has been supportive to CENFACS at this turbulent time since the coronavirus began.  We particularly thank our essential volunteers who continue to incredibly help harder than ever to keep our month and system of protection alive during this enduring coronavirus pandemic period. 

We have updated and upgraded CENFACS’ Cube of Protection against the Coronavirus.  CENFACS’ updated and upgraded Cube of Protection brings together under one roof these coronavirus-related initiatives that are intended to help poor, vulnerable people and incapacitated Africa-based Sister organisations.  

For those who think that CENFACS’ coronavirus-related initiatives making CENFACS’ updated and upgraded Cube of Protection may be of any help to them or people around them; they are free to contact CENFACS by texting or emailing or phoning or completing the contact form with their request.  

We look forward to receiving your or their request.  After receiving your/their request or query, CENFACS will get back to you or them.

Please STAY HEALTHY and SAFE.  Don’t forget to WEAR YOUR FACE COVERING!

 

From CENFACS

 

 

 

• Protection against the Negative Delayed Effects of the Coronavirus and Lockdowns

(Protection Key Note 2 for Week Beginning Monday 12/04/2021)

 

There are arguments that COVID-19 is a revelatory crisis as it has revealed what has been already there or known about the weakening of health and economic systems.  COVID-19 is not only a revelatory crisis; it is as well a crisis with far-reaching hidden effects.  Some of these hidden effects have not yet been unveiled.  When the coronavirus pandemic finishes or is nearly defeated, and one starts to really do the accounting of its negative effects, then one will figure out the real scale of damages this crisis has caused or left.

However, one does not need to wait until this end or near end to happen in order to start to the recovery work.  One can still start to guesstimate the kinds of negative effects that may come after, in order to prevent the transformation of this crisis into another one.  Once this guesstimate exercise happens and the possible negative effects to come are identified, one can think of protecting those who could bear the brunt of these negative effects and externalities from the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have identified some possible negative delayed effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns that need to be tackled as way of protecting those who may suffer from these effects.

 

 

• Protection of the Acutely Food-insecure People in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Sahel

 

The Lake Chad Basin and Central African Sahel continue to experience structural deficit in food to live on despite the stabilisation of the civilian situation in these regions, particularly in the Lake Chad Basin.  According to local statistical sources, around 27 million people will be in food crisis between June and August 2021.  Two million children are in need of treatment from acute severe malnutrition.  Structural and continuing food deficit have made people and communities in these two regions to highly depend on humanitarian food assistance since they cannot feed themselves. 

As part of CENFACS’ Month of Protection and Project of Africa Feeding itself with Agriculture, we are echoing the work of the Food Crisis Prevention Network (1) about the need to strengthen State leadership in food and nutrition security governance in the Sahel and West Africa.  We are calling for the protection of the acutely food-insecure people in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Sahel. 

To reduce these over-dependency and over-reliance on humanitarian food assistance, it requires from these regions to build and develop a self-sustenance or sustaining capacity in food supply and distribution.  This capacity building and development in food will help to protect their people and communities from hunger and food insecurity as well as mitigate disease-related to the lack of food. 

Anyone who knows what has been happening in these two regions in terms of food insecurity, malnutrition, the impact of climate change, civil conflicts, financial limits of States in the entire African Sahel region (the Lake Chad Basin being part of it), etc., will realise that it is not easy for under-resourced States of the region to solve the immense problem of food insufficiency and scarcity.  However, it will be unrealistic prospects to totally and continuously rely on international food humanitarian assistance to solve the hunger problem there.  Unless the locals in these regions start to develop some form of autonomy or self-sustenance in terms of food supply, food poverty is not going to go away.

For those who would like to engage with CENFACS on the issue of building and developing food self-sustenance capacity in the African Sahel region, they are welcome to do so.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Updates and Upgrades of the Month: CENFACS’ Cube of Protection against Enduring Coronavirus

 

In the above message of hopes, we have informed you that as the coronavirus endures, we have updated and upgraded CENFACS’ Cube of Protection against the Coronavirus.   CENFACS’ Cube of Protection against the Coronavirus is a cuboidal system that enables us to defend against harms, dangers, threats and risks from the coronavirus and its associated health and socio-economic impacts. 

The upgrades we have done concern the Coronavirus Spring Project which is now trending as Spring Project of Building Back Better from the Coronavirus.  They are as well for Virtual Support against the Coronavirus Pandemic which is currently trending as Advisory Support to Build Back Better from the COVID-19.  Our ICDP (Individual Capacity Development Programme) Resource known as ‘Holiday with Relief’, which is part of our Cube of Protection, has an updated focus for this year.  Its updated focus is on ‘Restricted Holiday’.

The other three remaining sub-cubes (that is, Charitable Response to Coronavirus, Advisory Support for Coronavirus Rescue Income and Coronavirus-related Organisational Relief Programme) of the main Cube of Protection remain unchanged.  However, we are monitoring the evolution of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus and shall take into account any changes that may occur in terms of protection and safety against the coronavirus.  If there is any change, we shall again review our Cube of Protection against the Coronavirus.

For any queries and enquiries about the above mentioned updates and upgrades, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Reopening of CENFACS’ Charity e-Store

 

CENFACS e-Store has been reopened following the easing of non-essential retail restrictions and the unlocking of the charity retail sector.

We are following the strict restrictions and guidance regarding the control and surveillance of Covid-19 as well as the protection and saving of lives.

For the health and safety of everybody, all goods donations will be quarantined for at least 72 hours.

We have enhanced our sanitation and cleaning methods and practices. 

We hope you are doing the same in the interest of public health and safety.

Please do not hesitate to donate goods or purchase what is available at CENFACS e-Store.

Many lives have been threatened and destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic.  Those who managed to survive, they need help.  We need help to help them come out poverty and hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

To donate or purchase goods, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

 

 

 

• Protection of In-work or Working Poor and Reduction of In-work or Working Poverty

 

Protecting people includes the reduction of in-work or working poverty they may face.  During this Month of Protection, we have added to our protection work the reduction of in-work or working poverty.  The reduction of in-work or working poverty is the 4^th Goal of CENFACS’ 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme.  The Goal 4 is about supporting in-work or working poor people.   However, what is in-work or working poverty?

 

• • Meaning of In-work or Working Poverty

 

Drawing from the Eurostat (as part of the EU’s set of social inclusion indicators), Ive Mark and Brian Nolan (2) assert that

“The working poor are defined and measured as those individuals who have been mainly working during the reference year (either in employment or self-employment) and whose household equivalised disposable income is below 60 per cent of the median in the country in question”. (p. 11)

Yet, Abigail McKnight et al (3) argue that there is no uniform definition of in-work poverty and different studies take different approaches.  Abigail McKnight et al use the following definition:

“Individuals are poor or at risk of poverty if they live in households with equivalised income below 60 per cent of the national household median” (p. 52)

In the same line of reasoning, Rod Hick and Alba Lanau (4) contend that

“in-work poverty is based on an evaluation of the total circumstances of a working household, considering not only earnings from employment but income from all sources, minus taxes, with income equivalised to take account of the differences in needs that different household types have, and with all household members classified as poor or non-poor” (p. 5)

Rod Hick and Alba Lanau (op. cit.) add that

“In-work poverty occurs when a working household’s total net income is insufficient to meet their needs”. (p. 5).

                                                                                                                                               

The common denominator from these definitions is that the household equivalised income should be below a certain level in order to start to speak about in-work or working poverty.

 

 

• • Reducing In-work or Working Poverty

 

There is a set of measures (both statutory and non-statutory) to help reduce in-work or working poverty in any country.  There are as well initiatives taken by poor people/households themselves and organisations which go in the same direction of reducing this type of poverty.

As far as CENFACS is concerned, we work with users and Africa-based Sister Organisations through our Advice Service to direct the beneficiaries of this service to relevant support so that they can get the help they need in order to root in-work or working poverty out. 

However, in these current conditions of COVID-19 lockdowns, many ways of improving in-work or working poor’s income prospects and conditions are closed or restricted, especially for those who would like this improvement happens by grabbing opportunities that the non-essential retail industry offers.  One could hope that the easing of non-essential retail restrictions would help to bring some add-ons to the household equivalised income for some in-work or working poor working in this sector.

For those who would like to dip into in-work or working poverty with CENFACS, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 Main Development

 

• Protection against the Negative Delayed Effects of the Coronavirus and Lockdowns 

(Protection Key Note 2 for Week Beginning Monday 12/04/2021)

 

In any disaster of the magnitude of the coronavirus, there would be delayed effects due to shock waves.  In this respect, the effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns are still to come since both of them are not over yet.  We are still in sinusoidal cycle of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus in many places.  Likewise, we are still having intermittent closures and openings of economies and societies, especially for what it has been considered as non-essential retail activities. 

In this policy of stop and go, close and open; no one exactly knows the scale of the damages or negative effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns until the war/fight against the coronavirus is really over.  Until then, we will continue to have COVID-19 effects.  Some of these effects are already known.  Others will come on time as expected while other ones will be delayed or are delayed.  The delayed ones would be fully known when economies and societies will be fully open and functioning, and the process of counting all damages will be finished. 

In meantime, we can anticipate or speculate on some of the negative delayed effects that we may expect.  Since we are in the area of probability or possibility, one can make theoretical assumptions about the kind of negative effects one may expect while taking into account what is already known so far about the coronavirus and lockdowns. 

One can as well work on the kind of protection that is needed against these negative effects.  Because CENFACS work on poverty reduction and sustainable development, we are going to limit ourselves to the kind of protection that is needed to handle the negative delayed effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns in the areas of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

 

• • Types of negative delayed effects that could be expected

 

We have identified the possible or probable areas of negative delayed effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns in relation to poverty reduction and sustainable development.  The identified negative effects relate to organisations and individuals with whom CENFACS work.  They can include the following:

loss of skills, capacities and capabilities; frozen and postponed bills; the increase of the stock of household waste; and the socio-economic effects of staying homes during the coronavirus lockdowns. 

Let us look at them one by one.

 

• • • Loss of skills, capacities and capabilities

 

Although many organisations and individuals gain online and distance working skills, they are also those who lost their other areas of skills, capacities and capabilities.  In this respect, it is difficult to assert that the coronavirus and lockdowns have been a win-win game.  Instead, many would like see them as a zero sum game or simply a lost game for those who lost their skills, capacities and capabilities.

The losers are those who have not been able to home or distance work/study because of lack of means and opportunities.  Many of those who also work in non-essential economic activities, physical close-contact services and non-essential travel and transport additionally bear the brunt of the coronavirus and lockdowns.

Since most of people and organisations we work with are in need, this implies that they would probably be on the losing side in terms of the effects of coronavirus and lockdowns on skills, capacities and capabilities.  In other words, the coronavirus and lockdowns have not so far enhanced the skills, capacities and capabilities for these people and organisations.  Instead, they have denied to them many opportunities for development.   

 

• • • Frozen and postponed bills

 

Part of the arrangement during the COVID-19 crisis and lockdowns has been to reach a mutual understanding or mediation between service providers and users to freeze or postpone or spread out the payment of bills (such as utilities, rents, credits, etc.).  When societies and economies come to term with the fight against the coronavirus and lockdowns, most of these frozen, postponed and spaced out payments could become overdue or enforceable or will just rebound.  There will be negative effects for those who are unable to honour these owed bills.

 

• • • An increase of the household stock of recyclable waste

 

Since many of those recycling facilities have been working at a relatively low speed and high street retail recycling stores have been closed during the lockdowns, the normal process of recycling household personal items (such as clothes, light domestic appliances, etc.) which starts from household reducing the amount of unneeded and unused items has been stopped or sensibly reduced because of the coronavirus and lockdowns.  With the reopening of non-essential economic activities, the true scale of household and environmental stock of waste will come to light.

 

• • • The cost of staying home during the coronavirus lockdowns

 

For those of our members of the community whose life depends on they going out to survive and seek support, staying home has unbearable consequences on them.  If they do not have enough space, resources and other means; staying home could have led to various problems including psychological issues, tensions and conflicts over the share of space and limited resources.  These problems that the coronavirus and lockdowns may have exacerbated could still develop and take different forms or shapes.

The above identified problems or negative delayed effects can harm or endanger the lives of the above named organisations and people in need.  They can lead to further poverty and unsustainable development.  Protection is needed to stop this happens.

    

• • Protection against negative delayed effects

 

The delayed effects could be positive, negative and neutral.  In the context of these protection notes, we are interested in negative delayed effects or those results that will negatively affect the quality of life and the well-being of the organisations and people we work with, when these effects are fully known and counted.

 

• • • Protection against the loss of skills, capacities and capabilities

 

After losing skills, capacities and capabilities; it could mean one has become less able about what they were able to achieve.  They may need to re-empower and rebuild themselves.  They may as well need to be or self-protected against any harms and dangers that the skills, capacities and capabilities they had helped them to deal with these sorts of situation.

 

• • • Protection to meet the frozen and postponed bill payments

 

The true picture of the amount of the frozen and postponed bills will come when the real accountability and counting of all payments (due, in arrears and outstanding) are accounted for when the battle against the coronavirus and lockdowns are completely over.  Defending the community and people to cover these bills so that they do not fall deep into poverty and unsustainable development should be thought about.

 

• • • Protection against climate inaction or for climate action relating to recyclable waste

 

Shielding from danger and keeping life safe are further about facilitating or enabling the community and people to get rid of unwanted and unneeded household items that put pressure on them and the environment.  Protecting people and the community in this way will reduce climate inaction while encourage active climate action and the circular economy to grow.

 

• • • Protection to recover from the cost of staying home during the coronavirus lockdowns

 

Apparently, some may think that staying home help to save money.  It could be true for those who have money to save.  For those who do not have, staying home could be extremely costly.  Recovering from this cost could mean mending the negative legacies of the coronavirus and lockdowns.  One of the negative legacies within the community could be conflicts and tensions over the share of limited space and resources. 

Working with the members of our community to overcome these internal conflicts, disputes and tensions can help relieve the situation in the short, medium and long terms.  Likewise, working with them to improve the share of resources within their households could help guard them from poverty linked to unfair distribution of resources and assets.

The above areas of protection notes briefly illustrate the way in which one can protect themselves from the negative delayed effects of the coronavirus and lockdowns.  For those who would like to enquire about these effects and their related protection, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

 

_________

References

(1) www.food-security.net/en/ 

(2) Mark, I., Nolan, B. (2012). In-Work Poverty. AIAS, GINI Discussion Paper 51

(3) McKnight, A., Stewart, K., Himmelivert, S, & Palillo, M. (2016), Low Pay and In-work Poverty: Preventative Measures and Preventative Approaches, Evidence Review, May 2016

hpps://www.lse.ac.uk/business-and-consutancy/consulting/assets/documents/Low-Pay-and-In-Work-Poverty.pdf (accessed April 2021)

(4) Hick, R. & Lanau, A. (2017), In-Work Poverty in the UK: Problem, policy analysis and platform for action, Cardiff University  

 

_________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

07 April 2021

 

Post No. 190

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects

• Protection Key Note 1: Protection of Those without Essential Support and Service

• Green and Sustainable Alignment of Protection to Long-term Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Goals and Targets

  

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects

 

Protecting people and communities (or defending them against harm or danger) is about working with them in order to find solutions (via projects) to the problems, threats and risks they may face.  This would be the same in case of self-protection. 

In the context of CENFACS’ work with the community, there are many problems that organisations and the people CENFACS work with are facing.  Among these problems, we can single out two current of them, which are: poverty during the post-coronavirus time and people’s development in the post-exit era.                                                                                      

The post-coronavirus time is the period during which the idea of coronavirus is already settled in people’s mind set and coronavirus is no longer a strange concept.  The post-exit era is the period after an economy has exited from a regional economic integration model (like the UK exited from the EU).  Post-exit as an idea is not any more something new.

Because of the severity and deepness of the coronavirus impacts and the scars that economic exit have brought, the work of poverty reduction may not be the same or business as usual in the post-coronavirus and post-exit times.  For example, the coronavirus has made Africa to exponentially lose a hard-won decade of steady economic growth and poverty reduction. 

In this kind of circumstances, there could be a need to rethink or restructure the way in which poverty has been dealt with in the pre-coronavirus and pre-exit times.  Thus, a new way or model of reducing poverty and hardships may need to be found.  This could include new methods, techniques (qualitative and quantitative), approaches, theories, practices, paradigms, etc.  

To support these organisations and people to overcome the above mentioned problems, we have planned together with them a number of sustainable initiatives, which we can call “Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects”.  These are the projects that we previously argued would enable to make smooth transition from 2020 to 2021.   

During the Month of Protection and thereafter, we shall work with the community via creative and innovative ways of dealing with poverty in order to find possible answers to the problems they are facing.  Likewise, we are going to explore with our Africa-based Sister Organisations the best possible way of reorganising their activities of dealing with poverty to reflect the current changes in the poverty reduction market developments.   

The work with the community as well as with Africa-based Sister Organisations will be conducted via these “Post Projects” related to people’s development and organisational restructuring respectively.   

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have given the key highlights about these “Post Projects”.

 

 

 

• Protection Key Note 1: Protection of Those without Essential Support and Service

  

This week, we are starting the implementation plan of the Month of Protection with this first protection key note; a month which is of protection against enduring coronavirus.

At this time of enduring coronavirus, not all those in most need have been able to access the basic support and service they need.  Likewise, many of them have not been involved in working with those who could help to help them.   

There could be many reasons that explain this lack of access and involvement which include:

 

√ Those without support or service could be simply falling through the net

√ They may not be able to meet the punitive financial bailout terms and conditions of some of the bailout schemes, projects, programmes and policies

√ They are not able to pay their own bills (e.g. communication bills) in order to seek help and support 

√ They do not have any essential service because their life line support services are closed or have been destroyed by the impacts of coronavirus disaster and lockdowns 

√ They are digital, information and communication poor, as such they are or become voiceless and invisible within the system

√ They are informal and unregistered, therefore unrecognisable or ineligible for help and support  

Etc. 

Whether or not there could be a genuine reason that makes those people not getting the essential support or service the need, they deserve to live in a dignified manner like any human beings.  It is not simply acceptable to see humans suffering in humiliating and dehumanising manner by not having food, shelter and basic sanitary necessities to protect themselves against diseases (like the coronavirus). 

Protecting these people at the time of enduring coronavirus should really be on the top of the agenda.  Protecting them is on the rebound about protecting the public or those near them.  Failure to protect them may result in threats and risks for the health and economic life of others.  If not, there is a probability that they could pass their problems (such as poor health) to other members of the public or their inner circle.   

So, there could be some health and economic duties as well as benefits to protect everybody in this extraordinary time of the coronavirus pandemic, especially those who do not have any line of support or service.   They need protection if the society and economy want to come out stronger and together from this coronavirus crisis.  Monitoring and reporting of protection relating to those in most need have to be regularly and systematically conducted for this purpose. 

This is our first protection key notes for the Month of Protection 2021.  For those who have any queries or enquiries regarding these notes, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.   

 

 

 

• Green and Sustainable Alignment of Protection to Long-term Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reduction Goals and Targets

 

• • What is green and sustainable alignment of protection?

 

Green and sustainable alignment of protection simply means positioning ourselves for the defence against harms and dangers should be done in a way that does not cause harm to the environment, while it is continued over the long term without adverse effects.  This alignment of protection is required for the GHG emission reduction goals and targets in the interest of the commons. 

 

• • The alignment of protection to GHG emission reduction goals and targets

 

Defending humans and things from harms or dangers may demand taking into account the target requirements in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  These greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are binding targets to progressively reduce GHG emissions to be in line with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global temperature increase to well below 2ᵒ C and pursuing efforts to keep it to 1.5ᵒ C.  From this binding global goal, each part and place of the world are making their own efforts to set up targets or pledges in terms of net-zero emissions by 2050.   

In order to move towards the 1.5ᵒ C trajectory; protection of humans, animals and other things needs to be aligned to this long-term climate goal and target.  In this respect, green and sustainable alignment of protection is about arranging our protection positions or repositioning our work on protection so that they can reflect the climate need and agenda of meeting the GHG emission reduction targets.   

The above means in every role or character in role-playing game of protection we are involved in as part of protection, we need to consider or have the net-zero emission thinking of alignment.  So, this thinking will be like a reminder for us and will help to make our protection work like the one that saves, preserves and conserves natural and non-renewable resources without depleting them.  It is finally about making protection capable of continued over the long term without adverse effects.  

Those who may be interested in this issue of green and sustainable alignment of protection, they can contact CENFACS for further discussion on the matter.

 

 

 

Extra Messages 

 

• Leafy Year and Month of Protection

 

The Month of Protection is also of protection of leaves from biological pest as we are in CENFACS’ Year of Leaves.  It is about the defence of leaves against damage caused by herbivores.   This defence can help leaves survival and reproduction.   

In this respect, in order to continue our Campaign on Leaves, we are going to consider three areas of interest in this Month of Protection:

(a) Protection of leaves/plants

(b) Medicinal benefits from leaves/plants for protection against the coronavirus and future diseases and

(c) The way in which Africa-based Sister Organisations can enhance the Leaves Campaign.

 

(a) Protection of leaves/plants

 

Although plants produce their own chemical defences (such as thorns, spines and prickles) through secondary metabolites that act as repellents or toxins to herbivores or reduce digestibility, it is in human interest to protect plants/leaves, especially as we need them for food, medical and other living purposes.

 

The Month of Protection via the Year of Leaves is also about dealing with poisonous leaves for human/animal protection.  It means for example working to reduce the toxicity of some types of leaves that produce toxins that deter herbivores (such animals and insects) from consuming them.  Although human fatalities caused by plants are low, it is in the interest of humans and our users to study and be aware of these plants as we talk about protection.

 

(b) Medicinal Benefits from leaves/plants for protection against the coronavirus and future diseases.

  

There are many types of leaves that have been used for medicinal purpose since the beginning of mankind civilisation.  The Month of Protection gives us a further opportunity to learn the history of leaves in curing diseases as well as to use these leafy legacies to deal with new health challenges like the one posed by the coronavirus.  During this era of enduring coronavirus, in some parts of the world people have been using some types of leaves to protect them from infection and bacteria by cleaning their hands with protective leaves.   

 

(c) How Africa-based Sister Organisations can enhance this Campaign on Leaves

 

Many of our Africa-based Sister Organisations working in the field of plants and leaves are familiar with what we have just briefly described above.  They can use this Month of Protection in a Year of Leaves at CENFACS to better highlight the importance of leaves in protecting their users.

They can send additional messages or testimonies about the relevancy of leaves in helping their beneficiaries from poverty, hunger, famine and disease, as well as in providing ingredients in helping people in their living environment (e.g. leaves can be used to build a mattress for those in need to sleep, they can be used as energy as well).  

To the above, one can add other usages (nutritional, cultural, religious, etc.) of leaves such as wrapping food with banana leaves, creating a cross with palm leaves to celebrate Palm Sunday for Christians during the Easter period, etc.

To sum up, leaves need to be protected although they have their own chemical defences.  Many types of leaves have medicinal properties that help protect human from and cure diseases as well stop the transmission of diseases.  If leaves are poisonous, then it is in human interest to learn about it and deal with it. 

For those who are interested in leaves as protection, they are welcome to discuss with CENFACS the matter.

 

 

• Help CENFACS fight the Coronavirus-induced Poverty together with you this Easter

 

You can donate or pledge or make a gift aid declaration to help CENFACS’ in its Charitable Response to the Coronavirus (CRC) or Charitable Fight against the Coronavirus (CFAC).

CRC or CFAC is a CENFACS’ contribution via its supporters to the global effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Any of the donations, pledges and gifts given will help the coronavirus-affected poor people in Africa.

To support, just contact CENFACS by quoting or asking the Charitable Response to the Coronavirus (CRC) or Charitable Fight against Coronavirus (CFAC).

CRC or CFAC is a fundraising campaign set up by CENFACS to support the coronavirus-stricken poor people in Africa.

Thank you!

 

 

 

• Holiday with Relief at Easter Time

 

The Individual Capacity Development Programme (ICDP) resource entitled Holiday with Relief continues to be our source of reference and support this Easter holiday, together with its focus on ‘Restricted Holiday’. 

For those who are looking for advice, tips and hints including fixers for their Easter holiday; our ICDP resource is a handy basic companion to consider for Holiday with Relief.  It contains useful pieces of information for holiday with relief whether holiday makers stay at home or go away to pass their holiday.  In this particular time of the coronavirus-restricted Easter holiday, it can help about self-isolation, social distancing protection, confinement and lockdown easing.

Its handiness and usefulness are as good for this year’s edition as for the previous issues.

To request a copy of the ICDP resources, please contact CENFACS.

Whether you pass your Easter holiday in self-isolation or confinement or not, CENFACS would like to wish you a Very Healthy, Safe and Hopeful Easter Time!

 

 

 

 Main Development

 

• Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects – Key Highlights

 

To better highlight the above named projects; let us start with their meaning.

 

• • Understanding Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring Projects and Post-exit People’s Development Projects

 

• • • Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring Projects (PCPRRPs)

 

Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring Projects (PCPRRPs) are a series of activities, proposals, plans, processes and tasks to deal with changes within the components of poverty reduction systems or structures in the post-coronavirus development era.  In other words, they are sustainable development initiatives that help in the reorganisation of the constituting elements in the process of reducing poverty during and after the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

As Witold Kowalski (1) puts it:

“Reorganisation is a necessary process to respond to external market developments or to take any company to the next, higher level.  It is the company’s friend if executed properly”.

To respond to the new market developments brought by the life-threatening and destroying impacts of the coronavirus, poverty reduction systems need restructuring.  This is about aligning poverty reduction systems and structures with the current trend reflected by the new development landscape caused by the coronavirus pandemic and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets.  In this respect, COVID-19 has not only brought threats and risks; it has also come along with it new opportunities and openings to reduce poverty and meet needs differently.

 

• • • Post-exit People’s Development Projects (PEPDPs)

 

Post-exit People’s Development Projects  (PEPDPs) are a set of activities, processes and tasks that help raise people’s living levels, create conditions for people’s self-esteem and increase people’s freedom from poverty and hardships after the economy they belong to or work within exits from a regional economic integration model.  Through these projects, the goal is to make sure that the economic well-being and quality of life of users do not go down or get worse because of the economic exit from economic integration. 

PEPDPs find their explanation in the notion of development as defined by M. P. Todaro and S. C. Smith (2) who argued in the glossary page of their book on economic development that development is …

 

“the process of improving the quality of all human lives.  Three equally important aspects of development are [1] raising people’s living levels…[2] creating conditions conducive to the growth of people’s self-esteem…[3] increasing people’s freedom by enlarging the range of their choice variables, as by increasing varieties of consumer goods and services” (p. 810)  

 

PEPDPs will try to help those in need to achieve these three aspects of development.  Particularly, the projects will help the community to keep and or improve standard in poverty reduction as the country exited from the EU.  The projects will use any breakthroughs emerging from the new situation to even upgrade the work of poverty reduction and sustainable development.   

 

• • How these “Post Projects” work

 

Under the PCPRRPs, CENFACS will try to work with Africa-based Sister Organisations so that they can reorganise their poverty reduction works by classifying them between essential and non-essential activities, between healthy and unhealthy ones.  Together we can to look at those areas of their work that need restructuration, externalisation, delocalisation, re-localisation, etc.

In this process, the underlying value of restructuring is centred on the concepts of poverty reduction and sustainable development.  The PCPRRPs will help them to further focus on their core activities while mitigating the adverse impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and side effects of lockdowns.

Under the PEPDPs, CENFACS will try to work with the CENFACS Community in the areas of sustenance by helping them to meet the basic life-sustaining human needs of food, health, education, housing, digital, information, protection, etc. services so that they can reduce levels of poverty associated with them.  CENFACS will as well work with them on matter of self-esteem as human beings and of freedom to choose in order to reduce poverty and hardships linked to the lack of respect and lack of choice.

 

• • PCPRRPs and PEPDPs in the context of the coronavirus pandemic

 

Both PCPRRPs and PEPDPs will respectively help keep organisations and people healthier and safer as well as having good quality sanitation facilities. 

The two types of projects will help in the following:

√ Keeping beneficiaries educated and informed about poverty restructuring and people’s development as we have been doing it through our COVID-19 Campaign

√ Working with them so that they can develop solutions and receive the support and/or service they need in order to survive in the new context of coronavirus and intermittent lockdowns

√ Helping them to take actionable steps in the processes of poverty reduction restructuring and their own development

 

• • Steps we shall take to implement PCPRRPs and PEPDPs

 

To implement both initiatives, we will take the following steps:

√ Identify the problem areas

√ Create objectives to deal with the problems

√ Estimate and secure funding sources for restructuring and people’s development

√ Restructure activities for organisations

√ Help people meet the basic life-sustaining needs

√ Monitor and evaluate results

√ Report and review the entire poverty reduction restructuring and people’s development projects.

 

The above key highlights give some basic information about PCPRRPs and PEPDPs and the way in which they can help beneficiaries (organisations for PCPRRPs and individuals for PEPDPs). 

For those who would like to learn more about these “Post Projects” or just to enquire, they are free to contact CENFACS. 

 

__________

 

References

 

(1) Witold Kowalski, The Process of Organisational Restructuring for Large Corporations at https://expert360.com/resources/articles/process-of-organisationalrestructuring (accessed April 2021)

(2) P. Todaro & S. C. Smith (2006), Economic Development, 9^th Ed., Pearson Education Limited, USA

 

________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

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.

1^st 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.

2^nd 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.

3^rd take away

The fight against the coronavirus pandemic should not be opposed to the need to prioritise the climate change issues.

4^th 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.

 

_________

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

 

________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

24 March 2021

 

Post No. 188

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Climate Action no. 4: END Climate Inaction (24 to 30/03/2021)

• Tigray Peace Re-appeal

• Coming This Spring 2021: FACS Issue no. 71 to be entitled as African Not-for-profit Organisations and African Continental Free Trade Area

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Climate Action no. 4: END Climate Inaction (From Wednesday 24/03/2021)

 

One thing is to be aware about a situation; another thing is doing something to resolve the situation; that is taking effective action to deal with a situation that is the cause of concern.  As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1) puts the following statement on their website when talking about the consequences of climate change inaction:

“Doing nothing will cost more than acting”

Acting will help biodiversity in reducing threats on habitats and lives; reduce weather events (such as rising temperatures, rainfall variation, cyclones, etc.); crops to yield, etc.

In the context of the fourth notes relating to our climate action working days, we are not dealing with the consequences of climate change inaction.  We are instead focusing on what can be done to end climate inaction that the challenging context of the coronavirus may have brought.

Under the Main Development section of this post, there is more explanation about the fourth climate action.

 

 

 

• Tigray Peace Re-appeal

 

Due to the continuing violence in the northern region of Tigray, CENFACS would like to re-appeal to the international community so that poverty linked to the violent situation in Tigray can be reduced and or ended.  According to local sources, more than 521,200 people have been displaced so far.  This is let alone the tragedies in this insecurity, instability and ethnic violence.   

This re-appeal is also about helping to prevent the Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis to create further poverty and humanitarian crisis for the innocent civilian people in the areas at this already challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic and difficult economic situation. Working with those who are suffering from this continuing violence will not only contribute to peace but also to prevent further damage they have already incurred and start build back from the violence and effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

We know that at this challenging time, it is not easy to support many causes even deserving ones.  However, what one can do is to create a magic by providing Peace-Giving Gift to the victims of this insecurity without giving money.  They can do it by undertaking the following little remote actions that can have a BIG impact on the ground.

 

What you can do to provide a Peace-Giving Gift to the peoples of Tigray:

 

√ Talking to someone who has influence on what is happening on the ground can change life

√ Networking, campaigning, responding to a petition, and so on can make a significant impact

√ A phone call or a mobile phone text message or even a tweet or a video conference can save millions of lives

√ Raising your voice about the crisis in Tigray at a peace talks or rallies

√ Spreading the news in your social networks and contacts about the issue and the potential threat this may bring to the Horn of Africa 

√ Having some thoughts about what is happening in Tigray and on practical ways of helping, as part of coronavirus lockdown activity

 

Although physical gatherings are restricted or banned because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, most of the above actions can be done online and remotely.

CENFACS hopes you will act upon this humanitarian peace re-appeal and create the magic of Peace-Giving Gift without giving money so that the sufferers in Ethiopia’s Tigray can navigate their way to sustainable and inclusive peace. 

 

 

 

 

• Coming This Spring 2021: FACS Issue no. 71 to be entitled as …

African Not-for-profit Organisations and African Continental Free Trade Area –

How the African not-for-profit Organisations can get the best out of the game of a free trade area

 

By definition, a free trade area is primarily designed to enable participant countries to freely export and import goods and services between them without restrictions like tariffs and quotas.  Yet, the African not-for-profit organisations, especially those that do not export and import goods as part of their aims and objectives, are going to live within the economic borders of a free trade area – the African Continental Free Trade Area.  If so, how can they make the game of a free trade area benefit to them or at least have less harmful impacts on their poverty reduction work and sustainable development?

The 71^st Issue of FACS Newsletter will investigate ways in which the African Not-for-profit Organisations (AN4POs) can successfully engage with the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA).  The Issue will look at what the AN4POs can gain by taking active part in the ACFTA.  It is indeed about what the not-for-profit development can extract from the hypothetical economies of scale that may result from the ACFTA in the era of the coronavirus pandemic.

A free trade area has advantages and disadvantages that the AN4POs can find in it.  Without only selling the benefits of a free trade area, it is possible for the AN4POs to grab the hypothetical opportunities that the ACFTA can offer to reverse the health and economic adverse impacts of COVID-19 into asset to manage change.  They can use the leverage from the ACFTA to further reduce and end poverty and hardships.

The Issue goes further in aligning the AN4POs ambition with the scope to build forward better in a greener and cleaner way as the ACFTA develops and becomes established as an economic continental integration model.

The Issue will finally explain ways in which CENFACS will try to work with its Africa-based Sister Organisations in order for them to find their place as well as way of surviving and sustaining as the ACFTA grows and develops.

To read more about this new Issue, please keep checking on CENFACS incoming posts this Spring 2021.  To reserve a paper copy of this 71^st Issue of FACS, please contact CENFACS with your mailing details.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• ReLive Issue No. 13: Spring Project of Building Back Better from the Coronavirus (SPBBBC)

 

The 13^th Issue of our ReLive Spring fundraising campaign resource is the next step after the Coronavirus Spring Project we set up last Spring in order to help mitigate the damage of COVID-19 on poor people.  In this respect, SPBBBC takes stock of the Coronavirus Spring Project 2020 and is the next step since the coronavirus pandemic is still there and many places of the world are repeating lockdowns in order to control the pandemic. 

This next step is about going beyond the life-saving coping strategies (relating to anti-COVID-19 measures such as self-isolation, confinement, human barriers, social distancing, etc.) to build back better from the life-threatening and destroying impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.  This current step is still within the process of Saving, Rebuilding and Sustaining Lives of the victims from the Coronavirus shock, disaster and destruction.  

SPBBBC, which is in fact a fundraising appeal, is about adding value to other similar works and efforts which have been already undertaken so that the poorest people can start the process of rebuilding and reclaiming their lives while the world is still embattled by the coronavirus pandemic.

You can find more details about the Spring Project of Building Back Better from the Coronavirus under the page support causes at   http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

To support and get further information about this project, just contact CENFACS. 

 

 

 

• ICDP (Individual Capacity Development Programme) Resource, Holiday with Relief – In Focus for Spring 2021 Issue: Restricted Holiday

 

The next Issue of our ICDP Resource entitled as ‘Holiday with Relief’ will focus on restrictions put on people including the CENFACS Community in order to pass holiday at home or away during this time of the coronavirus pandemic.

As the coronavirus lasts, the current Issue, which takes stock of the tips and hints we developed last Spring to help protect the community as holiday makers, goes further in reminding us COVID-19 restrictions in our holiday (whether at home or away) while updating and upgrading these holiday-making tips and hints to reflect the current context of COVID-19 new variants and vaccine environment. 

In this COVID-19 dominated world, the way in which everybody passes their holiday has been restricted by a number of the following factors:

# the coronavirus pandemic and its adverse impacts

# the lockdown measures to control the coronavirus

# the fact that whether or not one is vaccinated against the coronavirus

# the economic downturn brought by the coronavirus

# the climate change requirements in order to meet the climate goals and targets (e.g. net zero CO2 emissions by 2050)

# the need to reduce our mounting pressure on the nature through our excessive demands on it which perhaps has led to the coronavirus crisis

Etc.

So, our way of passing holiday is being today restricted by all the above named COVID-19 induced factors.  This year’s Spring Issue of ICDP resource on “Holiday with Relief” will give some advice, tips and hints on better way of managing our holiday under the above named restrictions or put it simply in a COVID-19 induced and restricted world.

To enquire about the next Issue of Holiday with Relief, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• The Goal of Empowering Digitally, Information and Communication Poor People and Communities

 

This week, we are as well revisiting CENFACS’ 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme, particularly its Goal No. 6 of Empowering Digitally, Information and Communication Poor People and Communities.  We are doing it as part of climate action working days, particularly the action that needs to be taken to end climate inaction that the conditions of the coronavirus crisis may have led or exacerbated.

Since the majority of activities has been moved to online and digital worlds during this coronavirus crisis, there is a need to empower the digitally, information and communication poor so that they can effectively participate in the climate action.  This implies making sure that they are part of the interactive digital and IC (information and communication) worlds rather than they being only at the receiving end.

Although we are approaching the sixth goal of our 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme in the context of climate action month, there is more people and communities can do when they are empowered with digital, information and communication capabilities.  They can reduce and or end poverty linked to digital, information and communication needs. 

For those who may be interested in this Goal no. 6 and its implementation process, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

When we talk about actions, one must basically distinguish two types of action: physical and non-physical actions.  The actions we are going to deal with are in the current context of the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns which literally forced the postponement and cancellation of many climate actions.

 

• Physical climate actions during the COVID-19 lockdowns

 

Since the conditions of COVID-19 and lockdowns prevent people to physically meet, any physical gatherings of a certain significant number of people are not allowed in many parts of the world as way of controlling the coronavirus pandemic.  In addition to physical gathering prohibition, there are bans or restrictions on travel and transport except for COVID-19 permitted reasons; let alone social distancing measures put in place to control the coronavirus pandemic.

It is understandable and wise to take such measures in the interest of the public health and to protect everybody from the coronavirus pandemic.  However, the context of COVID-19 hinders the possibility of effective physical climate actions, leaving many climate campaigners and enthusiasts with the only non-physical action as an option.

 

• Non-physical climate actions during the COVID-19 lockdowns

 

We are going to distinguish paper actions from paperless ones.

 

• • Climate action through print/papers

 

Due to the environmental need to save papers and the planet, there has been a decrease in the circulation of quantity of printed information while we have witnessed an increase of the quantity of online information and data.  This trend dramatically increased during the first wave or shock of the coronavirus pandemic; meaning that the amount of papers that every household could have received through their letter box dropped. 

Although papers are still coming through letter boxes, there has been a decrease in their quantity due to the coronavirus pandemic and the continuing ascending trend of the digital economy.  This is let alone the need to quarantine mails before reading them (at least 3 days) if one wants to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 

To conduct climate action via print or papers has become problematic in these circumstances, especially for poor people.  Many of these poor people are experiencing stiff challenge to make ends meet during this unprecedented time.  It would be difficult for many of them to take proactive action to write mail and send them as way of taking climate action.

The above shows that the scope of climate action and campaign via papers (e.g. letters, leaflets, magazines, print newsletters, etc.) has been curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns. 

 

• • Climate action via digital, information and communication technologies

 

These are any activities carried out via social media platforms, online, TV, over phone, video conferences, etc.  However, because of the destructive impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, many people have lost their earning capacity to such an extent that a large section of the population cannot afford to pay for basic communication services such as internet subscription (or broadband subscription), mobile phone paid call plans, TV licence, etc. 

Some of them can only receive calls and make calls to free phone lines, but they cannot use their phones to access paid call services.  Since they cannot top up their phones and or honour their phone payment plans, they are not in position to effectively contribute to climate action.

To the above, one must add the cost of running information and communication technologies such as personal computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, etc.  Many of these devices have attached paid services linked to them like antivirus software, Microsoft Office applications, insurance policy, etc.  Many of these attached services are paid monthly or annually.  In this addition, there is as well the cost of utilities (such as electricity) to run these technologies.

Literally and technically, this large section of the population cannot afford their communication bills or services, because of the COVID-19 lockdowns and the eligibility criteria contain in many financial bailout schemes.  This situation limits or stops those who have been incapacitated by the coronavirus to effectively engage in any digital, information and communication climate actions.

The punitive terms of certain financial bailout schemes do not help many citizens to access the basic support they need to pay for the basic life-sustaining services (such as making a paid call for medical reason). 

In these circumstances, non-physical climate actions have been left to those who can only afford to run these digital, information and communication technologies since many aspects of life have moved to online world.

However, one can still argue that climate action is not only about sending and receiving information.  It is more about changing your attitude in terms of production, consumption and distribution of goods and services (for example, use less plastic, consume less meat, save papers, etc.).  This change of attitude and or behaviour remains to be seen during lockdowns since many of those in need may not have been given the necessary means, let alone the opportunity,  to improve their attitude towards the nature during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

 

• Actions to end climate inaction

 

It is possible to stop and end climate inaction forced by the punitive circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn.  To stop climate inaction led by the coronavirus and lockdowns, the following needs to be done:

√ Stop digital, information and communication poverty that COVID-19 and inappropriate lockdown measures have forced upon a large section of the population so that they can effectively be reached and or proactively participate in the climate action

√ Make coronavirus financial bailout inclusive not punitive and asymmetrical

√ Enable poor people to participate to climate action through a good internet connection and supply of digital, information and communication technologies

√ Work with them to cover the cost of running and maintaining these technologies 

√ Eliminate the increase of digital, information and communication poverty that COVID-19 and inappropriate lockdowns have exacerbated

Etc.

All these actions are relevant to end climate inaction.  For the sake of these climate notes, we are going to expand a bite on digital, information and communication poverty.

 

• Eliminate digital, information and communication poverty to end the COVID-19 induced climate inaction

 

The coronavirus pandemic has further weakened the poor’s capabilities for ownership and use of economic assets.  Although the COVID-19 lockdowns are life-saving, some lockdown measures are nevertheless negatively and structurally restrictive to the extent that they have forced poor people to stay not only home but also in further poverty.  One of the features of this extension of poverty is it has forced them to be in or exacerbated digital, information and communication poverty.

 

• • What is digital poverty?

 

There are many approaches to digital poverty, just as there are many types of digitally poor people.  In the context of these climate action notes, we are going to refer to the definition of Roxana Barrantes (2) who argues that digitally poor individuals are

“those who lack the information and communication enabled by digital technologies due to a lack of knowledge on how they are used, or a lack of income – demand considerations”.  (p. 33)

In the context of the adverse effects of coronavirus and inappropriate lockdowns, the worst scenario will be when people have no service available at all.  In this kind of circumstances, it is difficult to see how they are going to take climate action without information and communication enabled by digital technologies.

 

• • What is information and communication poverty?

 

There are many definitions of information and communication poverty.  In the context of this post, we have selected the definition given by Gover Borja and Björn-Sören Gigler (3).  In their paper about ‘the Concept of Information Poverty and How to Measure it in the Latin American Context’, the two authors argue that

“The communication and information poverty is a lack of the basic capabilities needed to participate in the information society” (p. 16)

They also think that “the creation of the information society should be complemented by a pro-poor approach to avoid the increase in inequalities and social exclusion”.

According to them, the information and communication poverty is measured in terms of poverty line implying the minimum capability required to participate in the information society, which has a three-component set of minimum capabilities to own assets and exchange information and communication.

From the above definition, one can argue that the harsh conditions of accessing information and communicating via contactless technologies can be the transmission channels to climate inaction during the coronavirus crisis. 

 

• • Information and communication poverty as a contributing factor to COVID-19 induced climate inaction

 

Since the coronavirus pandemic has weakened the poor’s capacity to participate in information society (because many of them cannot afford their communication bills or services); it prevents them from effectively engaging in climate action via digital and contactless means of communication. 

Let us assume that the non-physical means are the only ones allowed within the context of the coronavirus environment in order to take climate action.  So, strengthening the poor’s capabilities for ownership of physical assets (like information and communication technology assets) and use of economic assets (such as the productive use of information and communication technology) can help to reduce, even end the climate inaction experienced by COVID-19 impoverished people.

To conclude, climate action should not be a privilege for those who can afford to pay for the digital, information and communication services and technologies.  If one really wants the goal of 1.5 ᵒ C Paris Climate Change Agreement to be met, then a large section of the population must be involved.  To get involved they need to have the same means of communication like others.  By empowering more people and communities with digital and online access and reach, they can effectively contribute to the digital climate action while the battle against the coronavirus goes on.    

For further details about this Climate Action no. 3 and to support CENFACS’ Climate Action Working Days, please contact CENFACS.

 

_________

References

(1) https://www.oecd.org/fr/envionnement/climate-change-consequences-of-inaction.htm (accessed March 2021)

(2) https://dirsi.net/sites/default/files/dirsi_07_DP02_en.pdf (accessed March 2021), Roxana Barrantes, Analysis of ICT Demand: What Is Digital Poverty and How to Measure It?

(3) https://dirsi.net/sites/default/files/dirsi_07_DP01_en_pdf (accessed March 2021), Gover Barja and Björn-Sören Ggler (2007), The Concept of Information Poverty and How to Measure it in the Latin American Context

_________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

17 March 2021

 

Post No. 187

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Arrangements and Support during the Gradual Economic Reopening and Lockdown Easing

• Spring Relief 2021: Build Forward Better Together Greener and Cleaner

• Climate Action no. 3: PREVENT Financial De-prioritisation of Climate Change

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Arrangements and Support during the Gradual Economic Reopening and Lockdown Easing

 

The coronavirus effects have not exempted anybody in our community since it began last year.  We hope that everybody has so far managed to overcome these effects.  CENFACS is on the side of every of its members who continues to experience the pain at this time or who are in trouble because of the coronavirus and lockdown effects.

We know experiences and situations differ on how everybody in our community is coping with life under the constraints of COVID-19 and lockdowns.  We may have the following situations or conditions amongst our members:

# People who are back to work because they are essential or key workers

# Those who are working from home and/or online/remotely

# Those who are still shielding because of the impacts of COVID-19 and lockdown

# Those who have been ordered to stay home and/or who lost their jobs

# Those who are looking after a family member or a friend to mitigate the COVID-19 adverse impacts

Etc.

In all these situations, we all share one thing in common which is navigating our way out of this health crisis.  To navigate our way out, we need preparations or arrangements and support where we are unable to solve by ourselves the problems that COVID-19 and lockdowns have posed to our lives.

 

• • An Assorted Arrangement of Essential COVID-19 Services

 

CENFACS is open (as the above health dashboard showing) during this phase of gradual reopening of economies and societies to provide essential services, but online only.  We have arranged that the essential mix of services (like advice-giving) keep running during this challenging time. 

Anyone who needs advice to cope with COVID-19 induced issues at this difficult time, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.  This arrangement is for individuals in the UK and Africa-based Sister Organisations in Africa needing advice at this unprecedented time.  Both individuals and organisations can text, phone, e-mail and use the contact form to communicate with us.

 

• • Essential Support for Basic Needs

 

Since the coronavirus started last year, we have been remotely working and we shall continue to do so until such a time the situation returns as it was in the pre-coronavirus time.  For those who need support, they can contact CENFACS via the above mentioned means of communication.   

CENFACS’ COVID-19 Hub for Poverty Reduction, which brings most of our services relating to coronavirus under the same roof, is still open for those in need of support.  We encourage those in need to use the services it provides and not to stay silent and or isolated if they have any problems.  This is even the best moment to fight isolation and silence that COVID-19 and lockdown have pushed many people in.  In this respect, poverty is also the lack of support, of useful contact and of someone to count on at this exceptional time.

To fight this type of poverty, we need to come together, to build forward better together this Spring 2021.  We can do it by keeping our networking for protection alive despite the test it has undergone with the COVID-19 impacts.  We may not shake hands or each other’s hands, but we can still reinvent the wheels of our networking system of protection so that we can build forward better together as we step into Spring 2021. 

CENFACS’ Build Back Better and Build Forward Better Together Programmes can help to move to the right direction as we are trying to fight to come out the coronavirus or health or sanitation crisis.  We can better come out it if we build forward together greener and cleaner.

For any query or enquiry about these arrangements and support, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Spring Relief 2021: Build Forward Better Together Greener and Cleaner

 

• • General Spring theme

 

Generally, the key theme for Spring at CENFACS is Rebuilding or Renewing Lives, Infrastructures and Institutions.  In other words, Spring Relief is the season of rebuilding from what has been destroyed by wars, natural disasters, bad economic management, mistakes of the past, other disasters (like health crisis of Ebola or Covid-19), etc.  We need to rebuild in order to reduce poverty, stop its re-appearance and avoid the emergence of new types of poverty and new generations of poor people. 

The Winter Season of Light, which is ending in three days, gives us an opportunity to bring some lights and hopes to those in most need so that they can find the reasons to believe in life again.  The Season of Light tackles poverty as a lack of hope and expectations.  However, our work does not stop there. 

In Spring, we take the challenge of working with those in need to rebuild their lives, infrastructures, buildings, development of relationships, communities, etc. from the damage, loss and worse change experienced or caused.

So, the key words for the Spring Season are rebuilding and renewing.  We shall come back on these words at different occasions as we step into Spring and progress towards its end; especially with our advocacy project about Rebuilding Africa. 

 

• • Build Forward Better Together Greener and Cleaner this Spring Relief 2021

 

This Spring 2021 is still dominated by the health or sanitary crisis brought by the coronavirus pandemic.  Because of the COVID-19 dominance, we are going to help reduce poverty over this Spring within the context of life-threatening impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic as we did it last year’s Spring.  This is the current context of our work.  It is a context of rebuilding and sustaining lives, infrastructures and institutions in the world of health or sanitary crisis.

We started to rebuild and sustain lives, infrastructures and institutions within this contextual framework since last year when the coronavirus began.  We are now trying to build forward better together.  We are doing it with the green and clean economies in our mind set.  However, to build forward better together we need to build back better. 

So, the theme for this Spring Relief 2021 is “Build Forward Better Together Greener and Cleaner”.   The announcement of Spring Relief’s theme comes with that of projects and programmes making it or the notes composing this theme.  We have provided under the Main Development section of this post a selection of projects and programmes which will make this Spring – Spring Relief season. 

As said above, it is a selection.  Therefore, one should expect the introduction of new activities and the continuation of on-going initiatives like our All-year Round (or Triple Value) projects.  That is also to say, there will be additional projects and programmes as we progress throughout this Spring season.

 

 

 

• Climate Action no. 3: PREVENT Financial De-prioritisation of Climate Change (from Wednesday 17/03/2021)

 

There are some concerns that because of the large scale and deepness of the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there could be less appetite to finance climate change programmes and projects.  This is despite recently there have been some pledges from leaders around the world to keep the momentum with the work on climate change.  Pledges are great; however they need to be translated into concrete actions.  Before saying further anything about these actions, let us give a brief about climate finance.

 

• • What is climate finance?

 

This is what the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1) says:

“Climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing – drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing – that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change”.

As part of the climate action, the goal of jointly mobilising US $100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries was set up within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030.  With the coronavirus disruption and disturbance, many of the financial mobilisation actions for climate finance were stopped or simply postponed.  It is now expected that there will be a new collective quantified goal from a floor of USD 100 billion per year as a result of COVID-19 and lockdown effects. 

Clearly, the above is showing that climate finance is not a priority within the context of the fighting against the coronavirus.  This is despite the fact many actors are still trying to defensively calm the mood by arguing that climate change finance is still on the agenda.  Because of that, actions need to be taken to prevent the financial de-prioritisation of climate change while financially reprioritising it.    

 

• • Actions to prevent financial de-prioritisation of climate change

 

The fight against the coronavirus pandemic should not be opposed to the need to prioritise the climate change issues.  In fact, the world may have perhaps got into trouble with the coronavirus pandemic since the importance of preserving climate was ignored by human made behaviour.  Perhaps, if humans were more kind with the nature and putting less pressure on it with their demands, the world could avoid this kind of zoonotic crisis to happen again and be a better place.  The fight against adverse climate change should be given the same priority as the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.  They are complimentary.

There are a number of initiatives that can be taken to keep the financial prioritisation of climate change on track while the fight against the coronavirus is being carried out.  These actions could include the following:

√ Flag climate finance as a legitimate priority amongst other 2021 priorities

√ Keep the mobilisation and scaling up of long-term climate finance

√ Get donors to uphold pre-COVID-19 commitments to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction

√ Re-prioritise climate finance during the post-pandemic area by making the revised or new post-2020 global climate finance target to be effective soon as possible

√ Promote the availability, accessibility, mobility and execution finance relating to climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction

√ Improve the participation of poor people in international climate forums via a better internet connection

√ Stop climate change budget cuts through financial de-prioritisation model that undermines climate change issues without evidence-based spending decisions because of COVID-19 resource requirements

√ Keep investments in net-zero emissions climate solutions

√ Set or reset climate change re-prioritisation programme

√ Keep a fair interplay between climate finance priority and COVID-19 finance precedence

√ Reignite climate finance priorities in such areas as biodiversity protection, sustainable landscapes, renewable energy and adaptation

√ Reinvigorate the private donor development for climate finance

√ Respect the commitments made for and improve the green climate fund

√ Fulfil the previous pledges made

√ Keep the financial contributions of climate institutions

√ Integrate climate finance and development funding

√ Encourage climate finance funders and donors to align with the Paris 1.5 C Climate Target and Agreement

√ Keep the climate change as a priority in the poverty reduction and development agendas

√ Include climate change approach in any post-coronavirus disaster reconstruction budget

√ Complement post-coronavirus reconstruction work and climate change work

√ Align the budget for COVID-19 reconstruction work with that of greenhouse gas emission goals and targets

Etc.

CENFACS’ Africa-based Sister Organisations will be involved in some of these climate actions; leaving others to individuals, organisations and institutions that can afford them.

For further details about this Climate Action no. 3 and to support CENFACS’ Climate Action Working Days, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• End-of-season Reminder!

Only 3 Days to Go for Halving Poverty for Children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger before stepping into Spring 2021

 

Our fundraising campaign about Halving Poverty in Africa’s Central Sahel will be closed in three days.  We are again appealing to those who can to donate or pledge or make a gift aid declaration for this deserving cause.  

We know this is an extremely difficult time for everybody including donors/funders.  However, in places like Africa’s Central Sahel where poverty was already acute, it is even harder to survive as a child without any help at this time of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Your support can make helpful difference to those children in need in Central Sahel of Africa at this challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic.

To support and or enquire about this Africa’s Central Sahel fundraising campaign/appeal, please contact CENFACS. 

To find out further details about this campaign, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

 

 

• Climate Action Budget for Household/Family

 

An ordinary household or family can work out how much of their earning can be allocated to spending for climate action.  The given household or family can plan for a certain period how much to spend in order to reduce for example its greenhouse gas emissions. 

In their climate action spending budget, the household or family can plan the amount they need in order to encourage lower indoor greenhouse emissions, to adopt green and clean energy (for cooking and heating), to utilise efficient electric appliances, to compare fossil fuels to sustainable energy in terms of saving, etc.  For effectiveness, all these small initiatives will be summarised in a climate action budget.

So, to enrich our Climate Action Days, we will be working on the items of household/family budget relating to climate and where actions can be taken at the level of household/family in order to reduce climate issues (such as indoor air pollution).

For those who would like to work with CENFACS on their household budget in order to take action in favour of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, they welcome to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Climate Prediction and Action in Africa

 

This week, we are adding to our climate action climate prediction.  Often, we hear climate predictions about what is going to happen.  For example, in their Africa Hazards Outlook of 11 to 17 March 2021, the Climate Prediction Centre and National Centres for Environmental Protection and National Oceanic and Atmospheric in the US (2) predicted climate change in Africa.  They notably argued the following for Madagascar:

“Abnormal dryness is in place over the east coastal area of Madagascar.  Drought persists in the South with greatly impacted vegetation and planting delays.  Expected crop losses are estimated at 40%”.

If this prediction seems to be credible and true, then climate action can be taken to mitigate or avert the negative impacts of these hazards. 

CENFACS’ Africa-based Sister Organisations in those areas of Africa (like the Madagascar) subject to treacherous weather conditions can take action with locals to prevent any further damage to locals.  Likewise, these hazards give some good reason to financially prioritise climate change in order to limit its adversity on most in need and vulnerable at this time of the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

For those who would to dip into climate prediction and action with CENFACS, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.  

 

 

Main Development

 

• Spring Relief 2021: Build Forward Better Together Greener and Cleaner

 

• • What is in focus for Spring Relief 2021?

 

The focus is on Build Forward Better Together Greener and Cleaner.

Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic is and remains a sanitation crisis that has reverberated with sanitation poverty.  If we are going to build back and forward together, we need to build a greener and cleaner world so that future generations will not have the fulfilment of their needs compromises.  In other words, we need to adopt green and clean pathways for poverty reduction and low carbon emissions development.

So, during this Spring Relief 2021 CENFACS is going to work with the community in the UK and in Africa to start the work of building forward better together from the collateral damages left by the coronavirus disaster and some of the inappropriate lockdown measures.  We have said inappropriate lockdown measures, because not all these measures have equally or symmetrically treated or affected everybody.  No matter the good intention they had in order to control the coronavirus spread and protect the public health.  There have been uneven distributional effects as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns for example.

Building forward better is also about correcting the asymmetrical legacies of these measures since many of our community members have been unevenly hurt during this current crisis compared to other economic crisis such as the global recession of 2008/9. 

In order to build forward better, one needs a programme or a strategy or a post-COVID-19 build forward better strategy.  This is why we have developed a Build Forward Better Together programme.  To deliver this programme, one needs as well a set of projects and activities.

 

• • Preview of Projects and Programmes for Spring Relief 2021

 

CENFACS is pleased to present its new season’s (Spring) collection of selected projects and programmes with a choice of relief and climate smart services.  For each of these projects and programmes, you will find climate resilient development ambition as well as user-friendly and –centred relief.

These are the projects and programmes to rebuild lives, infrastructures and institutions as we move forward better together greener and cleaner.  They are free but we do not mind donations.  The more you donate, the more we can relieve. 

Please find below the selection of Spring Relief 2021 projects and programmes.

   

April: Protection Month

 

There will be two key words to add to our protection this Month: Ring-fence and Alignment.  The two key terms will lead to two ways of delivering protection to the community which are as follows.

 

• • • Women and Children Projects (3W & PPS Reflection Day):

 

Reflection on Ring-fencing Protection for Women and Children to Become more Resilient to Future Shocks and Crisis (Protection project)

 

Our Reflection Day will be about thinking of the best possible way of improving resilience and vigilance from women and children to better sustain future shocks, disasters and crisis.

As part of the Reflection Day, we shall look at the early warning signals of future threats to and models of protection.  In this respect, we shall refer to theories, measures and models of protection and prediction.

Additionally, we shall reflect on the effects of COVID-19 threats on our network of protection in the process of building forward better together greener and cleaner.

 

• • • Green and Sustainable Alignment of Protection to Long-term Emission Goals and Targets (Protection and Green project)

 

Self-protection or protecting people and communities should not be done at the expense of long-term carbon-free world.  Any kind of protection to be sustainable has to be aligned with emission goals and targets if one wants a world within the framework of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

 

May: Stories Telling Month

 

Entries for Stories on Poverty Relief and Development for May 2021 (May Stories) are now open. To tell your story of change for change to CENFACS, please contact CENFACS for story telling terms and conditions.

 

• • • All in Development Stories: Tell your Story of Building Back Better from the COVID-19 Disaster – Tell it! (Volunteer’s & Stories Telling project)

 

This year’s All in Development Stories will be about how people and communities are trying or have tried to build back better from the coronavirus disaster and lockdowns.

This year’s stories are those of recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction from the shock and disaster caused by the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns.  They are the tales of physical, social, environmental and economic building back better.

 

• • • Rebuilding Africa: Build Back and Forward Better with Communities and Africa-based Organisations (Advocacy programme)

 

There will two areas in our advocacy to rebuild Africa, which are as follows.

 

# Building Back Better with Communities and Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) will be based on wellbeing economy, inclusiveness and safety against the coronavirus pandemic.

# Building Forward Together with Communities and ASOs will be about navigating their ways to improve in those areas where COVID-19 has brought a new window of opportunities and scope to learn.

 

June: Creation & Innovation Month

 

In order to come out any crisis of the magnitude of COVID-19, creation and innovation could provide answers.  Likewise, to build back and forward better, creation and innovation should be the response.  This June, we shall deal with creations and innovations that help cure the crisis as well as those that help prevent future shocks and disasters to be harmful or destructive for people and communities.     

 

• • • Creations and Innovations during the Process of Building Forward Better (Creation and Innovation project)

 

Forming from nothing ideas or introducing changes to move forward together will be the main activity during the month of June 2021.  These creative ideas and innovative ways of working will enable to find the means to meet the level of ambition we have for the kind of sustainable development and future we want.

 

• • • Creations and Innovations that Counteract Future Shocks and Disasters (Creation and Innovation project)

 

Using our skills, knowledge and talents to find techniques, technologies and new methods to deal with the currently pressing and immediate crisis may not be enough unless we create and innovate to prevent or at least to mitigate future crisis.  It means there could be another need to bring into existence ideas and introduce changes and new methods to address the future crisis if they happen when they happen. 

To request further information about Spring Relief 2021 projects and programmes, please contact CENFACS. 

 

Note: 

The above initiatives are only a selection of what we have planned for Spring Relief season.  We may introduce new initiatives and or upgrade the existing ones depending on the circumstances as we have from time to time to respond to emergencies and urgent humanitarian issues like we have done with the current sanitary crisis, COVID-19.  In which case, we shall let you know. 

Also, in every work we do to try to help reduce poverty, there is always a cost to bear.  If you could help alleviate some of our costs, we would more acknowledge your support than just appreciate your gesture.  

 

________

 

References

(1) https://unfccc.int/topics/climate-finance/the-big-picture/introduction-to-climate-finance (accessed March 2021)

(2) https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/international/africa/africa_hazard.pdf (accessed March 2021)

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

10 March 2021

 

Post No. 186

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Build Forward Better Programme – Key Highlights

• Climate Action no. 2: REDUCE Pollution and COVID-19 Induced Climate Issues

• Halving Poverty for Children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Build Forward Better Programme – Key Highlights

 

As lockdowns are gradually eased and economies and societies are reopening, it is perhaps the time to start the work of rebuilding projects, services, activities and any other areas of operations that may have been affected by the coronavirus and its associated health and economic impacts. 

However, in our approach to rebuilding, we should not only build back better, we should as well have a long term perspective.  Therefore, building forward better should be the policy or programme we should pursue.   This policy or programme will be about engineering a post-COVID-19 recovery that is climate-smart, greener and cleaner for both our work in the UK and Africa.  In other words, we need to build forward better together with the communities in the UK and in Africa.  In this respect, Build Forward Better Programme will be about taking a low-carbon development and greener economic path as we transition to a post-coronavirus development world.

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided more information about this programme.  

 

 

• Climate Action no. 2: REDUCE Pollution and COVID-19 Induced Climate Issues (From Wednesday 10/03/2021)

 

Before dealing with the different climate actions that can help to reduce pollution, let us first illustrate the problem that COVID-19 may have brought in the area pollution and waste.  We are going to do it through the use of plastics.

 

• • Plastic Pollution and Waste as a result of COVID-19

 

To fight and control the coronavirus pandemic, companies and households have been producing products (goods and services).  Amongst these products, there are face coverings or masks, visors, gloves, hand sanitisers and other personal protective equipment.  This is let alone the vaccines to tackle different COVID-19 variants.

Some of these products are made with plastics; some of them are disposable ones.  These products are produced in million quantities across the globe.  This poses the problem of recycling and pollution, especially for plastics.  Not all countries around the world, especially in Africa, have enough capacity in terms of recycling facilities.  This raises as well the issue of dealing with climate change as all this waste is sent back to the nature and often in water (like streams, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans).  This further questions the health of water.

The production, distribution and consumption of COVID-19 products are happening despite the fact the coronavirus has caused a temporary decline in greenhouse gas emissions.  Indeed, during the COVID-19 lockdowns there has been reduction of air pollution with the closure of non-essential economic activities and of roads in some cities.  There have been less cars and traffic or travel, etc.  This has helped to temporarily lower greenhouse gas emissions.

It is known that reducing pollution and COVID-19 induced issues that can lead to climate-damaging emissions (linked to the lack of recycling of COVID-19 products) can help to improve the quality of air we breathe, reduce waste, and therefore can have less adverse impact on the climate.  To achieve this reduction, action needs to be taken like the following.

 

• • Climate Actions to Reduce Pollution induced by COVID-19 Waste

 

Coronavirus used items (like gloves, masks and hand sanitizers), if not collected and recycled, can cause pollution on land, in air and water.  To deal with the COVID-19 waste, particularly but not exclusively single-use plastic waste, climate actions need to be taken.  These actions could be of these kinds:

√ Resume recycling programmes that have been stopped because of COVID-19 outbreak

√ Reduce packaging waste from deliveries relating to lockdowns and related to online quarantine economy

√ Stop upsurge in polluting plastic activities

√ Prevent the environmental crisis caused by COVID-19 to become humanitarian one

√ Reduce the skyrocketing use of disposable plastic masks and gloves; instead use reusable and washable ones

√ Reduce COVID-19 waste from single-use personal protection equipment

√ Reopen shuttered recycling facilities and increase recycling curtailed by COVID-19

√ Reactivate or review laws or regulations on single-use plastic bags

√ Increase the share of renewables in the energy mix

Etc.

Climate action is about translating words into concrete action to reduce pollution (particularly plastic pollution) as a long term sustainable development goal.  By doing that one can shows the way forward.   These actions will bring co-benefits to the COVID-19 economic recovery and climate.

For any queries or enquiries about this second Climate Action, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Halving Poverty for Children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

ONLY TWO WEEKS TO GO…

For HALVING POVERTY FOR CHILDREN IN BURKINA FASO, MALI AND NIGER before stepping into Spring 2021

 

Our fundraising campaign about Halving Poverty in Africa’s Central Sahel will be closed in two weeks.  We are again appealing to those who can to donate or pledge or make a gift aid declaration for this deserving cause.  

We know this is an extremely difficult time for everybody including donors/funders.  However, in places like Africa’s Central Sahel where poverty was already acute, it is even harder to survive as a child without any help at this time of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Your support can make helpful difference to those children in need in Central Sahel of Africa at this challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic.

To support and or enquire about this Africa’s Central Sahel fundraising campaign, please contact CENFACS. 

To find out further details about this campaign, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Climate Action Share: Reducing My Demands upon Nature

 

Climate actions undertaken can be shared.  To share them, we are working on what everybody can try to do in order to reduce their demands on the nature.  We are going to refer to Dr. Aaron Bernstein’s answers to a conversation on COVID-19.  Dr. Aaron Bernstein (1) argued the following:

“Less demand for animal meat and more sustainable animal husbandry could decrease emerging infectious disease risk and lower greenhouse gas emissions”   

From what Dr. A. Bernstein said, CENFACS is asking to those who can to share with us their feelings about their demands on the nature/environment.  If anyone of you could share with CENFACS the action they are taking to reduce their demands upon nature, this could be great.

To share your Climate Action about the reduction of your demands upon nature/environment, please contact CENFACS by using any of these means of communication:

text, phone, e-mail and complete the contact form on this website.

Thank you.

 

 

 

• Energy Substitution Effect

 

As part of work on energy for the poor and climate action, CENFACS is working on energy substitution effect of fossil fuels (e.g. coal, oil and natural gas) for cleaner and renewable energies (such as wind, wave and solar power) from a change in their relative prices for low income households. 

If anyone within the community is doing similar research work, it could be good to discuss together with CENFACS.

To discuss the energy substitution effect, please contact CENFACS.  

 

 

 

 

• The Interaction between Pollution, Poverty and Coronavirus

 

Since we are taking climate action to tackle pollution that COVID-19 products can lead (in terms of waste), we are as well looking at the link between this kind of pollution and poverty, especially in places where there is a lack of recycling capacity or facilities. 

Indeed; millions of gloves, face coverings and hand sanitisers have been used every day in every section of every society and every economy in the world.  One does not need to be an environmental conservationist to figure out where these gloves, face coverings and hand sanitisers will end up, especially for single-use ones.  

It is known that all these items have been used for human life-saving purpose and in the context of health and economic emergencies.  However, in places where recycling infrastructures and structures are not advanced (like in many parts of Africa), there is a good probability that these used items would be abandoned in the nature.  This could increase the level of pollution (on land, in air and water).  If one talks about air pollution for instance, the lack of recycling of these abandoned items can affect the quality of air that people breathe in those places.

So, there could be interaction between pollution, poverty and COVID-19.  In particular, when the non-recycled items used in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic get abandoned in the nature and become a source of pollution (land or air or water pollution).  For example, air pollution can harm lives (in terms of respiratory infection particularly in children) and interact with poverty.

Those who would like to further discuss the above briefly described interaction; they are welcome to contact CENFACS.   

       

 

Main Development

 

• Build Forward Better Programme – Key Highlights

 

The key highlights relating to Build Forward Better Programme in this post include the following three items: the meaning of this programme, the reason behind the setting up of this programme, the section of this programme that applies to CENFACS’ area of operation in Africa. 

 

• • What is Build-Forward-Better Programme?

 

Build Forward Better Programme (BFBP) is a set of projects and activities designed with the aim to ensure that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic sits on sound and sustainable foundations that build back better the poverty reduction gains hard-won so far and help beneficiaries to move forward better and greener.  The programme is scheduled for two years depending on the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, with a possibility of roll out.

Through this programme, beneficiaries will make steady progress in their journey and work of reconstruction from the COVID-19 impacts while preparing to stay resilient to future similar shocks and crisis. 

BFBP takes stock of CENFACS’ version of Build Back Better Programme. 

 

• • What is Build Back Better Programme?

 

There are many versions of Build Back Better Programme around the world.  The CENFACS’ version of Build Back Better Programme considers the three elements of Build Back Better model which are: recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.  This version is from the disaster relief phases as defined at the United Nations General Assembly (2).  The latter argues that Build Back Better is

“the use of the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction phases after a disaster to increase the resilience of nations and communities through integrating disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical infrastructure and social systems, and into the revitalisation of livelihoods, economies and the environment”.    

Since the coronavirus pandemic is a shock and disaster, we can apply this definition to the communities here in the UK and in Africa in order to build back better.  We can build back better with the community in the UK and those in Africa.  An example of the application of the build-back-better programme is the one we could do with CENFACS’ Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs).

Build Back Better with the communities and ASOs will include the following:

√ Getting ASOs’ work back on track and their feet as economies rebound and lockdowns get eased

√ Triggering post-coronavirus funding, fundraising development and activities

√ Alignment with long-term emission reduction goals and targets (for example, with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions)

√ Improving access to post-coronavirus services and support

√ Building on creation and innovation to counteract future shocks and crisis

√ Continue to stay climate resilient and vigilant

√ Develop and/or improve entry to value chains in ASOs specific industry

Etc.

All the above key dimensions of Build Back Better Programme will be based on well-being, inclusiveness and safety against the coronavirus pandemic.

However, when we reset the phases of the COVID-19 Campaign last month, we said that we could start by Building Forward Together.  As we were still in a sinusoidal movement of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus, it would be uncertain to know when these curves would flatten for a longer period.  Because of that and the fact the coronavirus was already established in people’s mind as a reality (that is why we spoke about the post-coronavirus economy), we could now think of building forward.

 

• • Why to Build Forward Better

 

We are campaigning to build forward together for the following reasons:

# Some of the services and activities will be built back to their original state or normal condition

# Others will not be restored to their original or near conditions

# Others more may even entirely disappear without any chance of being restored

# Others more will be transformed to cope with the new realities and post-coronavirus economy.

Because of these reasons, we have reset the COVID-19 Campaign and are now working to move or build forward together.  However, building forward better together will depend on the final result of the impact analysis of COVID-19 on CENFACS’ system of production of poverty reduction and sustainable development products. 

 

• • Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations

 

Build-Forward-Better Programme, which will be run at the level of CENFACS and with Africa-based Sister Organisations, will enable to recover forward better and greener by aligning poverty reduction work with long-term emission reduction goals.   The programme will help both CENFACS and ASOs to try new ways of working, adapt and sustain emerging new working practices, develop postponed plans and activities and get the end-users of this programme out of their way to COVID-19 induced poverty and hardships.

In the context of this post, we are going to share with our followers, supporters and readers what Build Forward Better with ASOs will include; leaving Build Forward Better Programme within CENFACS for another occasion.

 

• • • Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations

 

Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations (BFBP with ASOs) is about working together with them so that they can navigate their ways to improve in those areas where COVID-19 has brought a new window of opportunities and lessons to be learnt. 

Those areas include the following: digitalisation (digital literacy and numeracy), remote work and access online services and goods.  These areas are part of CENFACS’ Digital and Social Media Campaign, particularly the level 4 of this campaign which is about Distance Working Technologies. 

Build Forward Better with Africa-based Sister Organisations implies the following:

√ Centre staging people in the process of recovery from the coronavirus

√ Reaping off the benefits provided by digital transformation such as remote work

√ Ring-fencing ASOs’ structures and infrastructures to become more resilient to future shocks and crisis

√ De-risking their poverty reduction instruments

√ Investing in internet-based economic and nature-based solutions

√ Strengthening resilience of ASOs and their users

√ Bringing together green and blue economies within ASOs

√ Using climate-smart approaches to tackle recovery problems

Etc.

It is hoped that all the above will help build forward better together greener and cleaner.

For further details about Build Forward Better Programme (including the different projects and activities making this programme, outcomes, indicators, benefits, budget, monitoring and evaluation), please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

______

 

References

(1) https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/subtopics/coronavirus-and-climate-change/ (accessed March 2021)

(2) United Nations General Assembly, 2016. Report of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Indicators and Terminology Relating to Disaster Risk Reduction.  Seventy-First Session, Item 19(c). A/71/644

 

______

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

03 March 2021

 

Post No. 185

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Climate Action Month

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Rebooting Phase 3, with Glasgow Steps It Up as a Working Theme

• Climate-induced Poverty as Situational/Transitory Poverty

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Climate Action Month: Stay on Track

 

For those who are familiar with CENFACS’ development calendar, they can remember that March is the Climate Action Month within CENFACS.  This year’s Climate Action Month will revolve around actions to curb COVID-19 adversity and its repercussions on the climate agenda.  Linking climate action and COVID-19 makes sense as many examples show that there are inter-linkages between the two.  For example, taking action to reduce air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels (like coal, oil and natural gas) can help to protect people from respiratory infection and diseases like the coronavirus pandemic. 

It is known that the coronavirus pandemic has taken more than one year since it broke out.  Since then, it has disrupted many lives, economies and societies.  It has diverted the directions of many poverty relief and development agendas.  Some of the events that contribute to climate action could not be held as planned last year while others were simply postponed.  Among the postponed events is the 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties  (COP26) which was supposed to be held in November last year.  This Conference is the one CENFACS normally follow in order to call the international climate community to account about the need to protect children against the adversity of climate change.

To stay on track with our climate actions and stop COVID-19 to become a severe drain for work on climate change, we have planned direct and indirect climate actions (or climate working days).

For further details about this month’s climate actions or working days, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Climate Protection and Stake for African Children – Rebooting Phase 3, with Glasgow Steps It Up as a Working Theme

 

We are continuing to work on Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC).  This is despite the postponement of COP26.  We are rebooting Phase 3, which is Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level (TCPSACI), phase that is part our project known as Climate Protection and Stake for African Children (CPSAC).

We shall follow the postponed 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties to be held in Glasgow from 1 to 12 November 2021.  Our follow up will be through the working theme of Glasgow Steps It Up.

 

• • What do we mean by Glasgow Steps It Up?

 

Glasgow Steps It Up (GSIU) means that we will be following the climate change talks to be held in Glasgow next November, and we expect the Glasgow gathering to step up and respond to our climate demand.  GSIU is also the mantra or motto for this year’s climate talks follow up.

Glasgow Steps It Up to save the environment is another opportunity to advance on what was achieved in Madrid and at other previous climate gatherings and talks.

GSIU is also a further occasion to try to bridge the gaps within the climate community so that the stumbling points of COP25 can be resolved.  One can hope that the postponement of COP26 has given enough time for various parties to come to a good agreement.

Without anticipating anything about GSIU, let us hope that at these coming climate talks the parties will respond to our climate demand.

 

• • CENFACS’ demand, Children’s demand

 

Our demand is and remains the same: to give and implement climate protection and stake for African children; the African Children being a sample of our working climate advocacy model. 

This demand is undertaking through the follow up of global climate talks (through CENFACS’ Climate Talks Follow up project) like the incoming climate talks (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.  The COVID-19 makes even the case for children protection from climate adversity a compelling and appealing one.

So, CENFACS will continue to inspire climate action.  This month, we are taking action to help, where we can, meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) while staying on track with our climate demand and stake for children. 

The Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015, is an essential step to address climate change.  As we all know, this Agreement has the central goal 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.  Supporting it makes sense.  However, this month’s interim report from the UNFCCC shows that many countries are not close to the level of ambition needed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Most of the actions that we shall take this month in relation to this demand will be about the key points contained in CENFACS’ Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy.  The later is a summary of what CENFACS and its beneficiaries would like the climate community (like the one gathering on annual basis to talk about climate change, the COP) to achieve for children, particularly but not exclusively African children, in terms of outcomes.

To support and or enquire about CENFACS’ CPSAC, please contact CENFACS.  To find out more about CENFACS’ Compendium of CENFACS’ Climate Advocacy, please also contact CENFACS.  

 

 

• • Climate-induced Poverty as Situational/Transitory Poverty

 

Climate action is also about taking steps to deal with the consequences of adverse climate change on other people’s lives.  One of these consequences could be the creation of climate poor because of treacherous weather events such as drought, torrential rains, floods, earthquakes, rise in sea levels, etc.  These situations or events can create situational/transitory poverty.

Since situational/transitory poverty is one the seven goals of CENFACS’ 2020s Development Agenda and Poverty Reduction Programme, we are carrying on the work on this type of poverty.  This time, the focus on situational/transitory poverty will be on the one that is caused by climate change events.  Depending on the intensity and power of these events, they can seriously or less harm people.  

Let us take the following examples.  Last year in Congo, torrential rains that triggered flooding did cause population displacements, extensive crop, livestock losses and food insecurity.   For the same year, consecutive unfavourable rainy seasons led to severe food insecurity in Djibouti.  Likewise, floods and landslides brought severe food insecurity in Burundi.

As these examples and many more show, climate/situational events such as floods, landslides, torrential rains, drought, etc. can create or lead to situational/transitory poverty.  Where there is poverty or poverty appears because of such events, action needs to be taken to reduce and possibly end this type of poverty. 

For those who want to find out more and or work with us on climate induced poverty, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS. 

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Leafy Year and Climate Action Month

 

Our dedication of 2021 as a Leafy Year will be looked at during the Climate Action Month.  In this respect, one of the actions that one can take could be to try to do something to help in the reversal of climate change adversity in matters related to leaves.

Indeed, the science of leaves tells us climate change can precipitate autumn by making autumn leaves fall early than thought.  This early leaf-fall may lead to less carbon storage by forests as some climate biologists and forest ecologists may think. 

Although we are not yet in autumn this year, this does not stop anyone to take climate action to reduce pressure on the environment by making sure that trees continue to draw carbon dioxide from the air.  It is scientifically known that trees convert and store carbon by using sunlight to make nutrients from CO2 and water. 

The end of this month will take us to spring as leaves emerge and photosynthesis starts.  It has been noticed that spring has been coming earlier than it used to be in some parts of the world.  This early appearance of spring is also a message for the kind of climate action that is needed.  

In brief, autumn leaf die-off or senescence and spring leaves emerging earlier are the indication of a changing climate that can impact carbon storage.  The month of Climate Action in a Year of Leaves means that one can take action to reverse new patterns and trends so that trees and leaves can rediscover their seasonal course of cycle as they were naturally designed.

For any query or to support CENFACS’ Leafy Year and Climate Action Month, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• In depth Discussion and Research Pilot Projects

 

Our campaign for good health and well-being is now closed with the end of Sustainable Development Month.  However, our community projects relating to In-depth Discussion on Household Expenditure on Health and COVID-19 Community Pilot Study to How COVID-19 has Affected Family Spending Budget are still running. 

Those who would like to take part in either of these projects they are welcome to contact CENFACS before the official start of spring 2021.

To contact CENFACS regarding these projects, just phone or e-mail or text or complete the contact form on this site. 

 

 

 

• Climate Action Movements in Africa with a Focus on Youth Climate Activists and Initiatives

 

Our interest in climate actions carried out by Africans in Africa continues.  We are carrying on with our interest where we left it last year.  We are particularly attracted by work on how young Africans are shaping up the hearts and minds of people to influence the climate debate.  Climate Action Movements in Africa are this type of environmental activism at local level, at person-to-person, by actions–based organisations working on a voluntary basis. 

They are organisations of different sizes and shapes which can be classified in various forms.  The common denominator to them is that they are grassroots movements that are trying to push the climate agenda forward in Africa and the world from bottom to up in places where sometimes ordinary people are more preoccupied with their daily pressure to economically survive rather than worrying about the changing climate. 

At this extremely challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic adversity, there are still ambitious young Africans in Africa who are not given up the debate and fight on climate change.  They know climate change is a long-term issue while COVID-19 may sooner or later be resolved despite the colossal damage it has caused so far. 

Examples of such youth climate activists, youth initiatives and young environmentalist enthusiasts include the following: Youth for Future Africa, the Africa-based Rise Up Movement, African Climate Alliance, Green Generation Initiative, Green Treasures Farms, Fridays for Future, African Youth Climate Hub, etc.   

We are looking at their climate action contributions as well as their efforts in poverty reduction work in Africa.

To add your climate action and or to support our Climate Action Month and Working Days, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Climate Action Month: Stay on Track

 

As introduced it above in the key messages section, Climate Action Month for this year will reflect the current condition of COVID-19.  This means that any climate action conducted will take into account the current context of COVID-19 and its subsequent repercussions.  In other words, our action will be on the relationships between COVID-19 and climate change.   As we work on poverty reduction, we shall as well include some elements of poverty reduction.  We also argued that there will be direct and indirect climate actions. 

 

• • Direct and Indirect Climate Actions

 

Before covering direct and indirect climate actions, let us explain what do we mean by climate actions.  Climate action is an activity of engaging and putting ideas into practice to deal with any natural or induced change in the long term average weather conditions of a place, especially when this change adversely affects people’s and communities’ lives and livelihoods.

Direct climate actions can directly lead to outcomes such as reductions of CO2 emissions, quality air, less pollution, etc.  One example of such climate actions is the prevention of deforestation.

As to indirect climate actions, they help to keep the advocacy and campaign about measures and activities to be carried out to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change going.  Examples of such climate actions will include the prevention of the next pandemic to happen. 

Without breaking climate actions into direct and indirect ones, the coming periods and sub-themes of climate action will guide readers about the kind of climate actions CENFACS is conducting this month.  These will help those who may be interested to join in.

 

• • Work Plan for Climate Action March 2021

 

The theme for Climate Action March 2021 is Stay on Track with Climate Action in the Era of COVID-19

 

From every Wednesdays of this month, the following Climate Actions have been planned:

 

# Actions no.1:  STOP jumps in greenhouse gas emissions during  and after the full reopening of economies and societies after lockdowns (03/03/2021 to 09/03/2021)

# Action no.2: REDUCE pollution and COVID-19 induced climate issues (10/03/2021 to 16/03/2021)

# Action no.3:  PREVENT financial de-prioritisation of climate change (17/03/2021 to 23/03/2021)

# Action no.4: END any inaction of climate change actions (24/03/2021 to 30/03/2021)

 

These actions will be conducted in the way that supports the work that our Africa-based Sister Organisations are carrying out in order to deal with the problems posed by the impacts of climate change while considering the health and economic effects of COVID-19.

 

 

• • From Wednesday 03/03/2021: Action to Stop Jumps in Greenhouse Gas Emissions during the Progressive/Full Reopening of Economies and in the Post-lockdown Era

 

• • • Economic Reopening and Action to Stop Rise and Jump in GHG Emissions

 

As economies and societies progressively fully reopened following the COVID-19 lockdowns, organisations and people will resume those parts of their activities and lives that were closed during lockdowns.  Both individual and collective production and consumption as well as the physical distribution of goods and services may increase.  Non-essential economic activities which were closed will tend to recover and catch up with the loss incurred during COVID-19 lockdowns.

With this resumption and the fully functioning of economies and societies, there could be a tendency to disproportionately emit greenhouse gases (GHG).  This is despite that many organisations and individuals suggest that COVID-19 recovery plans need to come with a window of opportunity to build back greener and cleaner.

Because of that, action needs to be taken to curb any potential rise or jump of GHG emissions beyond the acceptable level/limit in order to support the central climate goal, that is 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.  This action can be taken by everybody who cares about global warming and the global commons.  CENFACS and Africa-based Sister Organisations need as well to take climate action.

 

• • • CENFACS and Africa-based Sister Organisations Working Together in Helping to Stop GHG Emissions

 

It is known that this time is painful one since the health and economic repercussions of COVID-19 shock waves and subsequent lockdowns are still being felt within many communities here in the UK and elsewhere like in Africa.  Despite that we should work together to make sure that the brunt of COVID-19 lockdown should not be an excuse to give up progress made in reducing GHG emissions or to push us back to the resumption of disproportional GHG emissions. 

Our Africa-based Sister Organisations can continue to work with their locals to keep low GHG emissions while helping them in finding and accessing sustainable ways of meeting their needs (of for example cooking, heating, housing, travelling, etc.).   It is quite difficult to achieve this since those local people are still feeling the side effects of COVID-19 and lockdown. 

However, if one wants to make the world a better place, they need to do what is necessary in order to achieve it.  In their work, reducing or ending poverty is also integrative part of climate action as there is a link between climate change and poverty.  Climate induced poverty or situational/transitory poverty caused by climate change can explain why something needs to be done to reduce CO2 emissions.

 

• • • Ways of Stopping the Rise and Jump in GHG Emissions during the Full Economic Reopening

 

As explained above, it is possible to work with local people and communities to try to understand together the need to stop the rise and jump in GHG emissions.  To do that, it may require involving potential GHG emitters in our work and those who suffer from the consequences of GHG emissions.  It is also important to find out their conditions of life and explore together with them sustainable solutions to their problems.  This can lead to develop practical ways of dealing with the GHG emissions, ways which may include the following:

√ Doing afforestation (e.g. planting trees)

√ Stopping the burning of the fossil fuels for electricity, heat and transport

√ Using renewables

√ Adopting a climate-friendly diet

√ Involving and empowering those who can help deliver these practicalities (like women)

√ Using cleaner energy sources

√ Embracing the circular economic model (i.e. reduce, reuse and recycle)

√ Building back greener and cleaner from the coronavirus

√ Briefly, developing a roadmap with them on how they can refrain themselves to make a jump in GHG emissions as economies and societies keep reopening.

 

• • Interrelationships between Climate Action, Poverty Reduction and the Fight against Coronavirus Pandemic

 

Staying on track with our climate actions and stopping COVID-19 to become a severe drain for work on climate change means also acting to reduce poverty, especially situational/transitory poverty. 

This involves working with transitory poor to explore solutions to the kind of poverty they are facing as a result of such climate change events like foods, drought, cyclones, etc.  What one can try to do is to avoid that the solutions that transitory poor would like to use lead to GHG emissions. 

This implies working together with them to reduce both climate-induced poverty and any attempt to appeal to polluting means to resolve the hardships they are facing.  In this respect, there could be a relationship between climate action and poverty reduction, between action to stop rise and jump in GHG emissions on the one hand, and effort to reduce poverty generated by climate events on the other.

However, we may have a situation whereby transitory poor face COVID-19 poverty as well.  It means they could suffer from the double impact of climate change and COVID-19 shock.  This happened in some parts of Africa where people and communities were displaced because of torrential rains and floods while they were trying to cope with COVID-19 shock which has impoverished them.

This tells us that with the persistence of COVID-19 side effects, there is a possibility of interrelationships between the fight against COVID-19, poverty reduction and climate action.  How strong or weak these interrelationships could be?  This remains a matter of study.

To sum up, in order to stay on track with our climate actions and stop COVID-19 becomes a severe drain for work on climate change this means in this case that both COVID-19 induced poverty and climate-led poverty need to be tackled.

For those who may be interested in the above mentioned links and those who may be willing to further discuss this year’s climate actions, they can contact CENFACS.

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

24 February 2021

 

Post No. 184

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Wealth and Wellbeing Transfer Project

• Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for All

• Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign with a Focus on African Agriculturalists and Pastoralists

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Wealth and Wellbeing Transfer Project

 

The Wealth and Wellbeing Transfer Project (WWTP) is the continuation of some of points raised and discussed in the 70^th Issue of FACS newsletter.  The 70^th Issue was on Generational Economics and Reduction of Intergenerational Poverty, specifically on how to avoid and reduce the transmission of poverty to future generations. 

WWTP is indeed a practical response in the form of project regarding the points raised in this Issue.  The project takes the generational agenda forward and further by leading the way in planning to work together with intergenerational poor families so that they can navigate their way to avoid the intergenerational poverty trap for their children and grandchildren. 

Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided they key elements of this project. 

 

 

 

• In Focus for Week Beginning 22/02/2021 of the Month of Sustainable Development:

Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for All

 

This last week of February 2021, we are continuing to follow up, review, advance solutions and take actions to help achieve good health and wellbeing for all, particularly but not specifically for the poor.  We are doing it by re-examining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.8 relating to Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for All. 

This re-examination is at the COVID-19 time; a time of test for access to essential medicines and vaccines for all.  The coronavirus time is a testing moment for Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for All. 

For example, one can ask whether or not essential medicines and vaccines against COVID-19 are accessible for all, especially for the poor.  One thing is to argue that they are accessible for all; another thing is to make sure that accessibility to medicines and vaccines is materialised in their all aspects of safety, effectiveness, quality, affordability and essentialness. 

What these words mean: safety, effectiveness, quality, affordability and essentialness for medicines and vaccines.

 

• • Meaning of Access to Safe, Effective, Quality, Affordable and Essential Medicines and Vaccines

 

To accompany our readers, let us shortly explain the following terms.

# Access is “having medicines continuously available and affordable at public or private health facilities or medicine outlets that are within one hour’s walk from the homes of the population” (1)

# Safe is “free from danger or injury” (2)

# Effectiveness is “a measure of a drug’s beneficial effect on a disease or condition as demonstrated by substantial evidence from adequate and well-controlled studies and clinical trials” (3)

# Quality is “the suitability of either a drug substance or drug product for its intended use.  The term includes such attributes as the identity, strength and purity” (4)

# Affordable is “how easy or feasible an individual finds it to pay for a drug” (5)

# Essential medicines are “those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population.  They are selected with due regard to public health relevance, evidence on efficacy and safety, and comparative cost-effectiveness.  Essential medicines are intended to be available within the context of functioning health systems at all times in adequate amounts, in the appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality and adequate information, and at a price the individual and the community can afford” (6)

The above definitions can really tell whether or not everybody has access to essential medicines and vaccines.  If not, what can be done to make it happen?  A typical example to check or test this is with COVID-19 medicines and vaccine pledges.

 

 

• • COVID-19 Vaccine Pledges

 

To respond to this test of access, poor countries including those of Africa are already appealing for help to get the supply of COVID-19 vaccines; just as they did secure the supply of personal protection equipment against the coronavirus from international development donors. 

There are encouraging signs that many wealthy nations have already made some pledges to supply poor ones with quantities of coronavirus vaccines.  Both the G7 and G20 leaders have made pledges to donate quantities of coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorer countries (including those of Africa).  One can hope these pledges will materialise so that no one is left behind and vaccine inequality does not happen. 

However, in relation to these promises and on the fringe of supplies of medicines and vaccines, Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for All needs to be guaranteed at any time whether during the coronavirus crisis or after.  This access has always been challenging for the poor.

 

• • Meeting Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for the Poor

 

There are many players who are trying to help the poor meet the above access.  In the context of these notes, we are going to focus on what our colleges in Africa, particularly Africa-based Sister Organisations, are doing and can do in order to help those in need to meet this access. 

To do that, let us recall what we argued at the beginning of 2021.  We argued that there were challenges and opportunities for Africa-based Sister Organisations in 2021.  We also pointed out that 2021 could be a year of uncovered opportunities for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs); opportunities from the challenges they face from the coronavirus pandemic, financial uncertainty, economic impact of lockdowns and global economic downturn.

Amid of the challenges they face in 2021, ASOs can still have a window of opportunities and play a significant role in the spheres of poverty reduction and sustainable development.  There are opportunities or market niches they need to seize.  Health and wellbeing of the poor people are one of them.  They can stand out for poverty reduction and sustainable development in the areas of essential medicines and vaccines by undertaking the following:

√ Intervene in any efforts to reduce or end the disruption of supply chains (of for example medicines) as the legacies of COVID-19 and related lockdowns

√ Campaign for an increase or upgrade of logistics and infrastructures for coronavirus vaccines

√ Help in some of the tasks relating to the administration and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

√ Conduct sensitization campaigns about the COVID-19 vaccines

Etc.

The above are just the few opportunities that ASOs can seize in order to continue to work with local people to reduce poverty, especially health and economic hardships that have been brought by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.  This hardship is also found in the area of Access to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Essential Medicines and Vaccines for the Poor.

So, making sure that any essential medicines and vaccines reach everybody, especially the poor, will be the evidence that these medicines and vaccines are for all, not for the few or those who can only afford them.

The above health and wellbeing notes conclude our re-examination the Goal Target 3.8, but not our work on sustainable development. 

For any queries and or enquiries about these notes and the Month of Sustainable Development, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign with a Focus on African Agriculturalists and Pastoralists

Before looking at what is in focus, let us remind our readers the aim of Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign.

 

• • Aim of Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign

 

The aim of MZHAC is to raise awareness on sustainable food consumption and production in order to end hunger and malnutrition amongst those who are food deprived, particularly in Africa where the number of hungry people and families is still on the rise.  It is as well campaigning response to the challenge of rise in hunger that Africa will face in the foreseeable future.  In this respect, the coronavirus pandemic has only made the matter worse as it has put a heavy toll on the poor.

The contents of MZHAC are: End Hunger and Malnutrition Goal, Support Small-Scale Food Producers in Africa, Actions to Support the Food Industry in Africa, Meeting Vulnerable People’s Nutritional Needs, Actions for Sustainable Food Production Systems, etc.

 

This year, we are focussing on African agriculturalists and pastoralists to unite and contribute to these contents to make zero hunger Africa a reality, but not to be a matter of inter-community fight.

 

 

• • Focus on African Agriculturalists and Pastoralists

 

This year’s Making Zero Hunger Africa Campaign (MZHAC) will focus on how African agriculturalists and pastoralists who are working or can work together to make zero hunger Africa happen.  The focus is about exploring the positive of both (agriculturalists and pastoralists) and the inter-linkages between the two in the process of ending hunger in Africa.  It is an appeal to African agriculturalists and pastoralists to unite and work together. 

For example, one can help promote sustainable peace between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  Likewise, one can help quell fighting between semi-nomadic herders and sedentary farmers in south-eastern Chad since Africa needs both cattle and crops. 

The current focus or approach is about them two (farmers/hunters and pastoralists) working together to make the dream of zero hunger Africa to become a reality.  They can develop joint ventures instead of fighting between them.

Traditionally, agriculture and pastoralism have always been linked.  This is why one can speak about agro-pastoralist economic activity (that is the integration of crop production and livestock production).  In this era of the coronavirus pandemic, Africa needs both agriculturalists and pastoralists to end food insecurity and hunger that may be caused or exacerbated by the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns.  

So, the message of the MZHAC for this year is about agriculturalists and pastoralists working together in order to eliminate hunger in Africa during and in the post-coronavirus era.

To support and or enquire about MZHAC, contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• EcoBio Days: 24 to 28 February 2021

 

EcoBio (Ecological and biological) Days which will be held from 24 to 28 February 2021 bring to a climax our Sustainable Development month. 

What EcoBio Days are about?

EcoBio Days are the days of works about the nexus between organisms (e.g. animals, plants, etc.) and their environment. 

They are as well the days of study about living organisms. 

The days are about how we deal with living things and their environment in order to meet our own needs and goals without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. 

They are the days of humans with their environment as well as humans with things and living organisms.  

To enquire and or support EcoBio Days, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Resetting the Phases of the COVID-19 Campaign by Building Forward Together

 

Initially, we thought that the coronavirus pandemic will not last longer than as it is now.  Since there is uncertainty about its duration, the current response phase of the COVID-19 crisis may not be adequate.  In order to move forward together, there is a need to reset these phases. 

The early phases of CENFACS’ Campaign for Resilience and against the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19 Campaign) were as follows:

Phase 1: Initial response to COVID-19

Phase 2: Impact monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 on CENFACS

Phase 3: Post-coronavirus rehabilitation strategies   

The first initial response to COVID-19 and the impact monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 on CENFACS were fairly conducted without any problems. 

As to the phase 3 (that is Post-coronavirus rehabilitation strategies), we started to build back our services and activities under the Build Back Better Campaign.  However, since we are still in a sinusoidal movement of the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus, it is uncertain to know when these curves will flatten for a longer period.  Because of that and due to the fact that the coronavirus is already established in people’s mind as a reality (that is why we spoke about the post-coronavirus economy), we can now to think to build forward.

We are campaigning to build forward together for the following reasons:

~ Some of the services and activities will be built back to their original state or normal condition

~ Others will not be restored to their original or near conditions

~ Others more may even disappear without any chance of being restored

~ Others more will be transformed to cope with the new reality and post-coronavirus economy.

Because of these reasons, there could be a need to reset the COVID-19 Campaign, move or build forward together.  However, building forward together will depend on the final result of our impact analysis of COVID-19 on CENFACS’ system of poverty reduction and sustainable development. 

For further details about Moving or Building Forward Together Campaign, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.  

 

 

• Triple Value Initiatives: Questions and Answers for Starters

 

We are pursuing the planning process for Triple Value Initiatives (All-year Round Projects) by inviting those who may have some questions to raise and put them to CENFACS.   CENFACS will try to respond to them. 

To kick-start this invitation and clear some of the misconceptions about Triple Value Initiatives (All-year Round Projects), we are going to respond to the following questions. 

 

• • What are Triple Value Initiatives or All-year Round Projects?

 

They are a set of 3 yearly projects that run from the 1^st week of January to the week preceding the end of last week of December of the same year.  Through these 3 initiatives/projects (i.e. Run, Play and Vote), their users have the opportunity to do something about poverty reduction and sustainable development in the forms of either undertaking a physical activity (Run) or gaming activity (Play) or research activity (Vote).  The participants to these projects can chose to engage with one of these projects/activities.

For those who want to organise a run activity or play the CENFACS’ League of Poverty Reduction or vote a person who made difference in helping those in reducing poverty in Africa; they can contact CENFACS if they have any problems about how they would like to go with any of these activities.

 

• • How can I participate?

 

Anyone can participate or run any of these projects as long as they follow the underlying principles relating to them.  They can use whatever means are necessary to undertake and complete these projects. 

For example, if one wants to undertake physical run, they need to plan the running equipment they need including personal protection equipment against the coronavirus, to have a devise to time themselves; a bottle of water, a pair of comfortable trainers, etc.  

 

• • When can I enter these projects?

 

You can enter any of these projects at any time of the year.  However, since they are all year round projects, it is better to join or run them early.  This way, you will have more time to organise yourself and fit them within your other areas of life.  Also, if you start earlier it is much easier to get help than if you start later.

 

• • Why should I run these projects?

 

There are several reasons that may help you to decide to participate like the following:

√ These projects may help you to improve your own life in terms of health, wellbeing, fitness and happiness

√ You can use them as a way of bringing back something to the community

√ You can take the opportunity given through these projects to do something against poverty and hardships

√ You can use them to improve sustainable development and reduce adverse impact of climate change on any lives

For example, during the coronavirus crisis and lockdowns, one can use them to break out the vicious circle of the COVID-19 lockdown pressure.

 

• • Where can I run them?

 

It depends on each of the projects.  For run activity, you can do it outdoor and or indoor.  As to gaming activity, you can play online or offline.  Concerning vote activity, you obviously need to conduct some background research which you can do at home, in the library, online or travel abroad for those who can.  You can as well do fieldwork.  It really depends on your ambition and what you want to achieve as outcomes.

So, the above are the possible questions and related answers for those who would like to know more about Triple Value Initiatives (All-year Round Projects).  For those who have still questions to ask, they can address them to CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Wealth and Wellbeing Transfer Project

 

The following are the key highlights of the Wealth and Wellbeing Transfer Project (WWTP).

 

• • What is WWTP?

 

WWTP is a project of intergenerational poverty reduction that consists of working together with poor families in the community in order to identify the barriers to wealth creation while setting up strategies and building skills that will empower them to develop wealth transfer policy and practice.

Through this project, users will learn techniques and skills on how to save income, build inheritance and resources transfer so that their future generations do not inherit poverty and hardships.

Although many quantitative studies show that there is no systematic evidence of a causal correlation between receipt of intergenerational financial transfer (i.e. parent cash transfers) on the one hand and health and wellbeing outcomes on the other, it is hoped that WWTP will provide some positive effects in terms of wellbeing for intergenerational transfer beneficiaries.

 

• • Project Components/Activities

 

WWTP is indeed about how to build generational wealth and wellbeing which involves the following:

√ Investment in children’s human capital

√ Income saving skills and techniques to save for future generations

√ Creation of an income earning capacity to pass down to children

√ Financial literacy and numeracy skills

√ Capacity building in handling resources and assets

√ Digital and online technologies applying to money/wealth transfers

√ Income-generating leads

√ Resources transfer know how

√ Capability development in inheritance matters

√ Basic financial management skills

Etc.

 

• • Project outcomes

 

One of the problems with poor families is that many of them do not see the benefit of valuating their assets and liabilities.  Yet, doing some basic valuation of their wealth and their conditions of poverty can help to measure the gap to bridge in order to start the work of  building skills that will empower them to develop wealth transfer policy and practice.

From the perspective of this empowerment and as a result of the implementation of this project, one can anticipate the following changes and effects may happen:

√ Project beneficiaries will develop skills to save income and resources

√ They will become entrepreneurial and risk-informed takers in saving matters

√ There will be development and use of inheritance policy

√ They will be keen in asking valuation of their family wealth and wellbeing

√ Some of them may be willing to write a will or seek for will writing advice/support

√ There will be an improvement in children’s human capital, financial and numeracy skills, family assets management, family reserves building, a fair share of resources between current consumption and future generations’ needs, etc.

 

• • Project Indicators

 

The following intergenerational wealth and wellbeing transfer indicators will help to achieve the above desired outcomes:

√ The number of project users who will consider taking life insurance policy and will writing service as a result of this project

√ The number of children per family compared to resources and assets that family has will give some indication on the ability of that family to save

√ The percentage of children of a particular family with high/low/medium happiness (or life satisfaction) scores

√ The number of parent project users who will improve their learning ability in terms of transferring their wealth to their children

√ The rate of family resources allocation between current consumption and saving/investment in children’s human capital

√ The rate of accumulated wealth for a given family

√ The percentage of reduction of resources waste for a particular family

Etc.

 

• • Project Beneficiaries

 

Generally, the beneficiaries of this project will be low income poor families in the community. 

Specifically, the project will benefit local people/families who are mostly out of touch of anything relating to intergenerational financial and wealth transfer to future generations because of their conditions of poverty.

 

• • Project funding status

 

So far, this project is unfunded.  This means we are open to any credible funding proposals or proposition from potential funders or donors.  It is known that the coronavirus pandemic has put a toll on everybody.  However, those who would like to support this project will be more than welcome.

To fully or partly fund this project, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • Impact monitoring and evaluation

 

As part of impact monitoring, there will be routine and systematic 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 the lack of intergenerational wealth transfer policy and practice.

In proceeding in this manner, we will be able to measure the impact or at least the outcomes from this project.

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.  The health and economic crisis instigated by the coronavirus pandemic has perhaps negatively impacted intergenerational wealth transfer.  However, for those who may be interested in this project, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

________

 

References

(1) United Nations Development Group, Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, New York, 2003)

(2) https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/safe (accessed February 2021)

(3) https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/effectiveness (accessed February 2021)

(4) https://accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=513&sectionid=41488034 (accessed February 2021)

(5) https://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/books/NBK493099 (accessed February 2021)

(6) https://www.who.int/topics/essential_medicines/en (accessed February 2021)

 

________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

 

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

17 February 2021

 

Post No. 183

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Ituri Peace Appeal

• Access to Quality Essential Healthcare Services for the Poor

• Poverty Reduction Goals Project, Goal No.7: Reduction of Situational / Transitory Poverty

 

… and much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Peace Appeal for Ituri Region of the North-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo…

to Support the Victims of Insecurity and Displaced Persons

 

This is an appeal to save lives (of women, men and children), to stop the creation of favourable conditions for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and to restore destroyed essential infrastructures (e.g. health centre, homes, fields, livestock, etc.) in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  

This February 2021 appeal is part of CENFACS’ Light Appeals or Projects.  Any positive response to this appeal will help to stop further poverty and hardships as well as the reversal of the current situation to a major humanitarian catastrophe in the same region.

We know that the coronavirus pandemic has reduced the capacity of many supporters of humanitarian causes to act.  However, since most of them are equipped with distance working technologies and means of support, one can use them in order to remotely save lives in places where people are in extreme and urgent needs but do not have any means to survive the impact of violence posed upon them.  Inaction to help can only make the matter worse for them.  There are many ways in which one can help to change the situation on the grounds as explained below.   

For further information about the Peace Appeal for Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, please read under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• In focus for week beginning 15/02/2021 of the month of sustainable development is:

Access to Quality Essential Healthcare Services for the Poor

 

Our study on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Target 8 of this goal is focussing on the Access to Quality Essential Healthcare Services for this week.  The attention about this access will be paid on the poor since our work is on poverty reduction.

One of the problems with access to healthcare services is that those who have the means can access quality essential healthcare services, whereas those who are poor often do not have the same access, especially in developing countries (like of Africa).  This is particularly true in places where there is no equal access to health services or there is a lack of universal health coverage.  This is despite the fact that the access to coronavirus healthcare has put everybody on the same playing field, particularly in Africa.

Before continuing further, let us first try to make the reader understand our perception of healthcare since it is one of the key words in access to quality essential healthcare services for the poor.

 

• • Understanding healthcare

 

There are many ways of perceiving healthcare.  However, for the purpose of this second key message we are going to use Craig M. Wax’s (1) definition which is:

“Healthcare is not a thing at all to be given, bought or sold, but an entire ecosystem with many unique moving parts that are only connected by virtue of the existence of the patients.  Each patient having individual needs, will have a landscape that suits the needs of their own health, and one that will change with time.”

From this definition, one can argue the following.  Like everybody, poor people too have their individual health needs that can be linked to their situation on being on poverty or multi-dimensional poverty which can impact on multiple aspects of their life or health.  This consideration leads us the approach we are using in dealing with access to quality essential healthcare services.

 

• • Approaching healthcare from the lens of poverty relief and sustainable development

 

Without going to a variety of approaches used in healthcare, let us simply explain that healthcare here will be approached from the perspective of poverty reduction and sustainable development rather than from the point of view of other theories or ideologies.  For example, there are approaches that see healthcare as a free market product that follows the free market competition. 

Poor people have their own health problems and often they are unable to pay for health services unless they get some help.  That is why enabling equal access to quality healthcare services to them is important.  This equal access is better achieved when healthcare is considered as an ecosystem in its entirety.  Where there is equal access will normally include quality as well.

So, the central idea of this second key message is that effort must be deployed so that those who cannot afford to pay for quality essential health services to be empowered but not to be denied access because of their financial incapability to pay for quality health services.     

As part of this week’s study of Access to Quality Essential Healthcare Services, we will be conducting some research work on CENFACS’ Community Experience on Access to Quality Essential Health Services.

For those who have something to comment on this week’s topic for the sustainable development month, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Poverty Reduction Goals Project, Goal No.7: Reduction of Situational / Transitory Poverty

 

The work on the Reduction of Situational Poverty is part of CENFACS 2020s Development Programme and Poverty Reduction Goals.  In this work, we are approaching the goal 7 (which is Reduction of Situational or Transitory Poverty) of this project from two dimensions or areas (UK and Africa).   In other words, to reflect our areas of work (UK and Africa), situational poverty will be treated with reference to both our work in the UK and in Africa. 

To facilitate the implementation of this goal, let us answer the following questions: what is situational poverty, what causes it and how to get rid of it?

 

• • Understanding situational/transitory poverty

 

To understand situational poverty, we have selected the following simple definition from Richmondvale.org (2) which defines it as

“a period wherein an individual falls below the poverty line because of a sudden event”.

Which event can make people to fall below the poverty line?

 

• • Causes of situational / transitory poverty

 

Events that can trigger situational poverty include the following:

 

# Conflicts and prolonged civil insecurity

# Land disputes

# Inequality

# Climate change (e.g. drought), environmental disasters like earthquakes

# Lack of adequate access to clean and safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and food

# Lack of reserves to live

# Health crisis like the coronavirus pandemic

Etc.

The above events may be incontrollable and sometimes unpredictable for those suffering from them.  Some of these events can be cyclical, just as situational poverty can be. 

Whether it is about the community living in the UK or project users from our Africa-based Sister Organisations, any of them can be subject to a particular event that may lead to situational or transitory poverty or they can become transitory poor.  When this happens, then a solution needs to be found to edge this type of poverty out.

 

• • Reducing and ending situational / transitory poverty

 

To navigate way out situational or transitory poverty, its root causes must be addressed.

For example, if ethnic conflicts caused human displacement and situational poverty, then the conflicting sides need to negotiate to tackle the root causes that led to this type of poverty amongst their peoples.  The outside world can provide transitory humanitarian relief to save lives, but the ultimate goal should be to negotiate and reach a peace agreement between the two sides of disagreement.  Additionally, this peace deal needs to be implemented and monitored so that there should not be a repeat of violence.

What’s more, a no-size-fits-all view should be considered as a solution to each event depends on the circumstances and the people who have been affected.  For example, transitory poor from the coronavirus outbreak may be of different types like informal workers who lost their jobs, those who do not have access to clean water and sanitation, those who are suffering from the asymmetrical distribution of the effects of lockdown event, etc.

In a structurally egalitarian society, people can experience transitory poverty for a short period.  However, in uneven or developing societies (like of Africa); situational poverty can take longer to heal to the extent that if not dealt with properly it can become a generational one.

For those of the members of the CENFACS Community who may be subject to situational poverty or threatened by it, they can discuss the matter with CENFACS. 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Circular Economic Solutions to Poverty in the Month of Sustainable Development

 

The month of Sustainable Development is also of an opportunity to find circular economic solutions to poverty and hardships.  Those of our community members who are looking for circular economic solutions to poverty, they can work together with CENFACS in order to find solutions or get the leads to them. 

We can together co-create solutions that will shape pathways and drive action for sustainable solutions to the issue of poverty that some of you are experiencing.  Working together on this matter will help to deliver positive change for your current needs and those of the generations to come. 

Need to find circular economic solutions to poverty, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.  You can contact CENFACS by phoning, texting, e-mailing and completing the contact form on this website.

 

 

 

• Project Planning Service for the Users of Triple Value Initiatives (or All-year Round Projects)

 

Following last week’s announcement regarding the start-up of Triple Value Initiatives (made of Run, Play and Vote projects), our project planning service is now available for those who would like to engage with either of these projects.

For those who are interested in this service, they can contact CENFACS by phoning, texting, e-mailing and completing the contact form on this website.  We can together discuss your proposals about either your Run or Play or Vote projects.

 

 

 

 

• Advice-giving Service: Coping and Overcoming Situational Poverty

 

You can get the grips with some of the recipes on how to navigate your way out of situational or transitory poverty.

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns have caused a lot of pains to many to the extent that some people are now experiencing situational or transitory poverty.  If you are one of those suffering from transitory poverty, we can advise you on how to cope with this type of poverty and possibly work together so that you could navigate your way out of it.  We can as well signpost you to relevant and or customised services where our capacity to deal with your problem is limited.

Need advice on dealing with situational poverty; please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Peace Appeal for Ituri Region of the North-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

 

This is an appeal to support innocent peoples (that is, women, men and children) who are suffering from a deadly conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

• • What is happening in Ituri

 

As a result of the resurfaced ethnic conflict and land disputes in Ituri, there has been high level of civil insecurity with repeated attacks.  Villages were burnt; women, men and children have been raped and maimed.  Homes, fields, livestock and other infrastructures have been destroyed as well as human rights have been violated as the crisis goes on. As a result, many people have been displaced.  Many of them are homeless and seeking for refuges in neighbouring villages, towns and countries.

 

• • Situational poverty data that speak for the peoples of Ituri

 

According to local sources and organisations,

Around 647 have been killed in Ituri villages

More than 1.4 million people have been displaced

160 schools were damaged and around 80,000 children are out of school. 

All this has happened without undermining the high risk of contamination of COVID-19 and other diseases amongst the displaced people living in makeshift tents.

 

• • CENFACS’ role in making this appeal

 

In response to the current humanitarian situation in Ituri, CENFACS is appealing for action to save lives in Ituri.  Our appeal is not to interfere in people and communities’ ways and rights of running their places, affairs, countries or regions.

Our role is purely humanitarian one especially where lives have been already taken and a considerable number of people have been displaced.  There is a growing number of risks (such as poor health, sanitation, further violation of human rights, humanitarian crisis, etc.) if this situation goes on. 

 

• •  What CENFACS wants you to do: Provide a Peace-Giving Gift 

 

CENFACS wants you to create a magic by providing Peace-Giving Gift to the victims of this insecurity without giving money.  How?

We are appealing to you to try to do something about what is happening in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, so that the poor civilians can enjoy sustainable peace and internally displaced people can safely return to their homes and lands.

We often argue that there are always some little things one can do to create a BIG change or simply to try to change a very complex situation on the grounds without sometimes giving money, although there is a say that Money is King.  These little things include the following:

√ Talking to someone who has influence on what is happening on the ground can change life

√ Networking, campaigning, responding to a petition, and so on can make a significant impact

√ A phone/video call or a mobile phone text message or even a tweet or a video record can save millions of lives  

√ Raising your voice about the crisis in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at a peace talks or rallies

√ Having online chat about possible ways out about this crisis

√ Spreading the news in your social networks and contacts about the issue

√ Having some thoughts about what is happening in Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and on practical ways of helping, as part of coronavirus lockdown activity

Etc.

These kinds of simple things that one can do matter a lot for those whose life is at risk.  It is not surprising if Professor Wangari Maathai said that

“It is the little things citizens do.  That is what will make the difference.  My little thing is planting trees”. (Professor Wangari Maathai, Environmental Activist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner) 

CENFACS hopes you will act upon this February 2021 humanitarian appeal and create the magic of Peace-Giving Gift without giving money so that the sufferers in Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo can navigate their way to sustainable and inclusive peace. 

 

• • Who will benefit from this appeal?

 

The following victims of this deadly ethnic conflict will directly benefit:

 

√ Displaced persons (women, men and children)

√ Those critically lacking adequate shelter and refuge

√ Those living in makeshift tents

√ Unaccompanied women and children

√ Those in a greater risk of harassment and assault of exploitation

√ Those at risk of disease transmission (like the coronavirus) amongst displaced families

√ Those without or with very limited access to hygiene and sanitation facilities

√ Those lacking access to clean and safe drinking water and food

√ Those who lost all their belongings and their love ones in this conflict

Etc. 

There will be as well some indirect benefit as destroyed essential infrastructures and structures (like homes, fields, livestock, schools, medical centres, etc.) need to be rebuilt. 

 

• • Outcomes from your positive responses to this appeal

 

Let us hope that the following will be achieved from your positive responses:

 

√ Bringing the conflicting sides to return to the negotiating table

√ Restoration of normality and regularity

√ Reducing of the risk of spread of the epidemics like the coronavirus pandemic

√ Organisation of the return of displaced persons to their land

√ Settlement or workable solutions to the land disputes for invested parties

√ Rebuilding destroyed infrastructures and structures

√ Stopping any further violation of human rights

√ Above all, sustainable peace building process for all in the region of Ituri

 

• • Contacting CENFACS about this Appeal

 

You can contact CENFACS to discuss or talk about this appeal at http://cenfacs.org.uk/contact-us/

Thank you for considering delivering on this appeal.

______

References

(1) Craig M. Wax (2019), What is healthcare at https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/what-healtcare (accessed February 2021)

(2) https://richmondvale.org/en/blog/situational-poverty-definition-and-types (accessed February 2021)

______

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

10 February 2021

 

Post No. 182

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Making Financial Risk Protection in Health Work for the Poor in the Era of COVID-19 and Lockdowns

• Pushed into Extreme Poverty by Out-of-pocket Health Spending: Share Your Experience

• Triple-value-initiative Start up

 

… and much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• In focus for week beginning 08/02/2021 of the month of sustainable development is:

Making Financial Risk Protection in Health Work for the Poor in the Era of COVID-19 and Lockdowns

 

Our work on the constituents of Target 8 of Goal 3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals continues with Financial Risk Protection in Health (FRPH).  We are looking at how to make financial risk protection in health work for the poor in the era of COVID-19 lockdowns.   To make financial risk protection in health work for the poor, health protection needs to be built on some features like the following: needs-based solutions, valuable reliable universal health coverage, affordable, accessible by all, sustainable and able to lead to a good health and well-being.

Yet, in developing countries (like those of Africa) many peoples do not have health insurance cover.  This lack of health insurance cover is coupled by the lack of universal health cover (UHC) like the UHC that exists in many industrial developed countries.  Often, poor people are forced to pay from their own pockets for their health costs while making national insurance contribution which they do not often see the benefit.

In face of this situation, there are players in the market which try to do something to support those who are deprived from financial risk protection in health.  Amongst these players are Africa-based Sister Organisations specialised in health matter which are trying to work with their users to make FRPH work for them.  Their work is about how to reduce and possibly end poverty linked to the lack of health insurance cover or financial risk protection in health. 

Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find more details about this first key message.     

 

 

 

 

• Pushed into Extreme Poverty by Out-of-pocket Health Spending: Share Your Experience

 

As part of the work on financial risk protection in health, we would like to know if anyone of our community members has been pushed into extreme poverty because of out-of-pocket COVID-19-induced health spending.  It is known that the way in which out-of-pocket money is spending on health can impact on poverty for low income people or households.  In relation to that, the World Health Organisation (1) argues the following:

“Out-of-pocket health spending can force people to choose between spending on health and spending on other necessities” (p. 3)

“Out-of-pocket health spending can also push people into poverty” (p. 4)

“Out-of-pocket health spending is also a major driver of economic disadvantage compared with other factors” (p. 4)

Following these arguments, we are looking into the fact whether or not the coronavirus pandemic has similar effects for those in need who are spending their out-of-pocket money to meet the COVID-19 health bill. 

Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have pushed many people and families to the edge of or into extreme poverty.  They have added health and personal hygiene costs (such as the costs of buying personal protective equipment, sanitation and disinfection products as well as those of cleaning) to their normal expenses budget.  In doing so, these events have perhaps created new poor and or are holding the existing poor still poor.

If you have been pushed into extreme poverty by out-of-pocket COVID-19 induced health spending, we would like to hear your experience.  To share your experience, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Triple-value-initiative Start-up/Planning

 

In order to support those who have decided or may decide to engage with All-year Round Projects or Triple Value Initiatives, we are running start up sessions for each of them (i.e. Run, Play and Vote projects).  We are going to deal with different phases of project planning or start up from the idea (of running or playing or voting) to the initiative implementation, monitoring and evaluation. 

Whether you want to run or play or vote; you need to do a basic project planning in terms of the way you want to do it.  This basic project planning/start-up will include things like the following:

Aims (changes you plan to achieve), impact (a longer-term effects of your project), inputs (resources you put into your initiative), monitoring (regularly and systematically collecting and recording information), outcomes (changes and effects that may happen from your initiative), indicators (measures that show you have achieved your planned outcomes), budget (income and expenses for your initiative), etc.

As we all know, not everybody can understand these different steps they need to navigate in order to make their initiative or project a success story.  That is why we are offering this opportunity to those who would like to engage with the Triple Value Initiatives (Run, Play and Vote projects) to first talk to CENFACS so that we can together soften some of the hurdles they may encounter in their preparation and delivery.

For those who would like to discuss with CENFACS their Triple-value-initiative plans or proposals, they are welcome to contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Zero Income Deficit Campaign

In Focus: Uncut or Irreducible Expenses – How to deal with them

 

When one is poor, almost all their expenses are basic or life-saving.  It is difficult to cut them in order to maintain a zero income deficit policy.  How then can they not cut expenses in order to not create an income deficit that can lead to poverty and its transmission to future generations?    It is dilemma.     

The dilemma is that cutting them you create poverty.  Not cutting them you need to find resources to refinance them.  But, how do you solve this dilemma?

So, this week we are working with income deficit families and others on how to re-purpose their expenses or spending budget so that they are able to address the uncut or irreducible expenses in order to nullify or sensibly reduce income deficit.

Need to cut or manage your income deficit in your household accounts, you can contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

 

• Essential Consumption and Sustainable Development Month

 

Our wintry resource on Consume to Reduce Poverty (with a focus on Essential Consumption for this year) is still relevant in the month of sustainable development.  To highlight this relevancy, we are extending the tips and hints provided in this resource to explore ways of improving our consumption habits to support the month of sustainable development. 

As we are in a situation of the closure of non-essential economic activities, we can seize this opportunity to check if people’s essential consumption habits during the lockdown have improved their contribution to sustainable development.  In other words, it is about finding out how essential consumption is positively impacting sustainable development.     

For those who have anything to argue about the impact of essential consumption on sustainable development during this period of closure of non-essential economic activities, they can let CENFACS know their arguments.

 

 

 

• The CENFACS Community, Financial Risk Protection in Health and COVID-19 Expenses Coverage

 

The theme of financial risk protection in health (FRPH) gives us the opportunity to discuss with the CENFACS Community its understanding and level of tackling this issue.  This is regardless of the fact that one benefits from universal health coverage or not. 

We are putting the issue of FRPH in the context of COVID-19 crisis.  We are trying to examine how the community is financially meeting the daily costs to protect itself against the COVID-19. 

For example, one may try to find out whether the community is using its out-of-pocket money to cover these expenses or they have some sort of risk protection plans to cover from additional expenses generated by the pandemic.   Alternatively, they may or not be getting support to cover the extra health costs brought by the coronavirus pandemic.   

Briefly, this is a basic research or small pilot study on how the CENFACS Community is getting on in meeting the additional health costs induced by the coronavirus pandemic.

For those who would like to support this basic community research, they can feed us with information on COVID-19 induced spending coverage.

 

 

 

 

Main Development

 

• Making Financial Risk Protection in Health Work for the Poor in the Era of COVID-19 and Lockdowns

 

The following items will help to understand how to make financial risk protection in health work for the poor in the era of COVID-19 and lockdowns:

(a) Understanding financial risk protection in health

(b) Poorer households and their health accounts and budgets

(c) Household expenditure on health as a share of household total consumption/income for poor families

(d) The impact of COVID-19 on health spending budget for poor families without financial risk protection in health

(e) Africa-based Sister Organisations and their work to help locals’ needs in financial risk protection in health

(f) Actions on health finance and insurance

(g) African Diaspora money remitters and their contribution to health insurance cover in Africa

(h) Impact monitoring of financial risk protection in health of the poor at the time of COVID-19 and lockdowns

Let us look at one by one these selected items.

 

(a) Understanding financial risk protection in health

 

Our understanding of financial risk protection or the absence of a risk of financial hardship as far as health is concerned will be based on the sustainable development goal 3 and target 8 of it.  This will include the context of universal heath cover.  To simplify, we are using the definition of financial risk protection as given by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

From the WHO website (op. cit.), one can read the following:

“Financial protection is at the core of universal health coverage (UHC) and one of the final coverage goals.  Health financing policy directly affects financial protection.  Financial protection is achieved when direct payments made to obtain health services do not expose people to financial hardship and do not threaten living standards”.

“Out-of-pocket payments for health can cause households to incur catastrophic expenditures, which in turn can push them into poverty.  Key to protecting people is to ensure prepayment and pooling of resources for health, rather than relying on people paying for health services out-of-pocket at the time of use”.

After reading the perception of UHC by WHO, one may notice that it is possible for poor people to be exposed to financial hardships and their living standards be threatened in places where there is no or partial healthcare insurance cover.  In time of the COVID-19 crisis, it is even more complicated for those who have never had any health insurance policy to have any basic financial help for health protection if they do not get bailed out by the public authorities.  In this respect, the WHO definition also helps in understanding the role and place of a UHC system based on a sound and practical policy of prepayment and pool of resources.     

 

 (b) Poorer households and their health accounts and budgets

 

One of the problems with health spending is that poorer households cannot afford to pay for their own health insurance (both public and private).  Yet, in many low income countries (like those of Africa), they have to spend out-of-pocket money to do so even if they have not got any money to spend.  This could mean money should come from somewhere else, which could be an extended family, loan, charitable source, etc.  This problem raises the debate over universal health coverage which is one of the health targets for the United Nations sustainable development goal 3 related to good health and healthy well-being.

In time of the health crisis like the coronavirus pandemic crisis, this controversy about financial risk protection relating to health is even bigger.  Like everybody, poorer households have experienced an increase in the amount of items and products they need to access in order to protect themselves and the public against the strains of coronavirus.  This increase has affected their health accounts and budgets as they have (like anybody else) to purchase products to protect against COVID-19.   

If anyone is concerned by what we have just described or have any interest, they can discuss the matter with CENFACS.

 

(c) Household expenditure on health as a share of household total consumption/income for poor families

 

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Target 8 use two indicators which are: coverage of essential health services (3.8.1) and proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income (3.8.2).  The first indicator measures coverage of selected essential health services on a scale of 0 to 100 while the second one helps to track progress towards universal health coverage.

In its World Health Statistics 2020, the World Health Organisation (2) published the following indicators for these African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivore and the Democratic Republic of Congo) which are part of its member states.

In 2017, the service coverage index for universal health coverage in comparable estimates were 40 for Benin and Burkina Faso, 42 for Burundi, 46 for Cameroon, 39 for Congo, 47 for Cote d’Ivoire and 41 for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Between 2010 and 2018, the percentage of population with household expenditures on health bigger than 10% of total household expenditure or income from primary data were 10.9 for Benin, 3.1 for Burkina Faso, 3.3 for Burundi, 10.8 for Cameroon, 4.6 for Congo, 12.4 for Cote d’Ivoire and 4.8 for the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

Between 2010 and 2018, the percentage of population with household expenditures on health bigger than 25% of total household expenditure or income from primary data were 5.4 for Benin, 0.4 for Burkina Faso, 0.4 for Burundi, 3.0 for Cameroon, 0.7 for Congo, 3.4 for Cote d’Ivoire and 0.6 for the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The above first set of figures tell us that if one needs to make financial risk protection in health work for the poor in the above named countries in the era of COVID-19 and lockdowns, the coverage of health service needs to be improved and expanded to those who do not have it. 

For the second set of figures, the incidence of catastrophic health spending has to be reduced for those who pay out of their pockets.  It also means that one needs to improve the tracking or progress in universal health coverage, particularly but not specifically for poor households.

For those who would like to discuss in depth about household expenditure on health as a share of household total consumption/income for poor families, they can let CENFACS know so that we can plan an activity or a discussion group about it.

 

(d) The impact of COVID-19 on health spending budget for poor families without financial risk protection

 

We have been doing some research on the impact analysis of COVID-19 on the realisation of climate and sustainable development goals for African children.  This kind of analysis can be expanded to the realisation of a particular sustainable development goal and target (like goal 3 and target 8).  To be more specific, this can be done on financial risk protection in  health.  This is what we are trying to do when talking about the impact of COVID-19 on health spending budget for poor families without financial risk protection.

Indeed, apart from the fact that poor people can become COVID-19 patients, they have to spend like everybody else money to cover against COVID-19 strains or germs.  This spending has to be included in their household budget as the example below show (Table no. 1)

 

 

The above figure (Table no. 1) gives us some indication about what could be a COVID-19 expenses budget for an average household.

In places where poor people get support to cover these additional costs to their current spending budget, they will have less trouble in living during this health crisis.   However, where there is no or insufficient support, this can lead them to further poverty and hardships. 

If a household has health protection policy and his policy can cover these additional costs, then there is no problem.  Yet, many of these poor households cannot afford to buy insurance health protection policy to cover these types of expenses.  If there are players (like a Government) who can help them to buy a policy, that is fine.  If not, there could be a possibility of having further poverty in these households.  

Let us take the example of the CENFACS Community.  Like everybody else, many of the members of our community are suffering the impact of COVID-19 on their health spending budget, for those without financial risk protection in health.  Because of COVID-19, their health spending budget has increased while their income has gone down.  Many of them have lost their capacity of earnings without financial compensation as the lockdowns have detrimental effects on them like anybody else. 

If anyone wants to share their experience about the impact of COVID-19 on their health spending budget or has any comment to make about their financial risk protection in health, they can share it with CENFACS.

 

(e) Africa-based Sister Organisations and their work to help locals’ needs in financial risk protection

 

There is always a debate between two ways of financing health risk protection in health which are: people’s out-of-pocket payments for health services and public health purse.  This is found in both developing and developed countries. 

For various reasons, financial risk protection relating to health is not organised in developing countries (like those of Africa) as it is in developed countries.  Because of that, many people in developing countries (including those of Africa) are left without universal health coverage and without financial risk protection by their states.  Some of these people try to get support they can or wonder when support will come to them.  ASOs that work in the field of health try to make an effort to work with those locals who need some help to sort out their financial risk protection.

In the work that ASOs are doing they try to help those in need of financial risk protection in health in various ways such as:

√ Working with them to make an informed decision or decision between health spending and spending on necessities

√ Finding suitable ways of reducing or avoiding extreme poverty caused by health spending

√ Exploring with them alternative sources of financing their health spending

√ Ensuring that health spending does not induce an economic barrier

√ Advising them on how to stay healthy and maintain a good well-being

√ Working with them on how to get value for money in terms of financial risk protection schemes

Etc.

At this time of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, the handling of financial risk protection in health becomes even more important for those in need of health risk protection.  This is because there are still other services or viruses against which they may have to fight while the battle against the coronavirus continues.  Likewise, lockdown and health measures to protect against COVID-19 are not making easy their work.  However, one can hope that with what COVID-19 has revealed in terms of health systems in many places in Africa financial risk protection schemes will be taken seriously.  The work that some ASOs are doing with very limited means will be valued and given support it deserves.  

   

(f) Actions on health finance and insurance for ASOs

 

There are actions that can be undertaken to help those organisations that are involved in working with locals in financial risk protection matter.  There are two levels of actions which are: actions on health insurance cover for the poor and those related to the direct support of ASOs.

 

f.1. Actions on health insurance cover for the poor and vulnerable

 

These actions revolve around the following:

√ Reduction of insurance premiums to improve affordability of health insurance for the poor and vulnerable people

√ Helping poor communities to buy health insurance policies (for example those related to COVID-19 protection) where there is no health insurance cover for them

√ Making risk insurance in health work for the poor

Etc. 

 

f.2. Actions to support ASOs working on health risk protection

 

These actions may include activities undertaken that may help to mobilise finance to cover financial risk protection in health.  These actions could be like the following:

√ Donations and support donor development programme

√ Financial products and services to fund health risk protection work carried out by ASOs

√ Private funds mobilisation

√ Health fundraising activities and events

√ Grant making for health insurance work

√ Income-generating activities to fund health risk protection

√ Online and digital fundraising for risk protection in health

Etc.

Although we are at the moment of health crisis with the coronavirus pandemic, one needs to think as well that after this crisis life will continue.  Therefore, one needs to have a long term perspective in terms of actions to be conducted if they are going to make financial risk protection in health work for the poor.

 

(g) African Diaspora money remitters and their contribution to health insurance cover in Africa

 

It is well documented that African Diaspora’s remittances contribute to Africa’s development and the reduction of poverty.  One area of contribution that Africans in the diaspora make is funding health needs of African family members in Africa who cannot afford health costs.  These costs range from simple medicine like aspirin to more complicated cases of diseases. 

Often, Africans in the diaspora have either to send money or purchase medicine to help those relatives and friends who are ill and do not have the means to buy a health cover policy because the way in which health systems operate in some places in Africa.  Many in the CENFACS Community receive requests from families and relatives for medical and health support.

The positive responses to those demands are indeed an example of how African diaspora is contributing in making financial risk protection for those in need in Africa.  This is despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns have detrimental effects on this little but useful contribution Africans in the diaspora are making to health needs in Africa.

For those who want to discuss further about African diaspora’s contribution to the health and wellbeing in Africa, they can contact CENFACS.

 

(h) Impact monitoring of financial risk protection of the poor at the time of COVID-19 and lockdowns

 

In time of deep crisis like of the coronavirus pandemic, there could be confusion in terms of priorities.  Financial risk protection for the poor could be neglected as there could be a tendency to tackle the priority of saving lives and other essential aspects of the economy than dealing with the finances for the poor.

Because of that, it is essential even life-saving to regularly and systematically collect and treat information relating to financial risk protection so that there is no further pressure on the existing health crisis.  This will contribute to the impact of the action taken for good health and well-being.  Also, this will give some evidence that the poor are not left behind as one is trying to save lives and the economy.

For further details about the impact monitoring of financial risk protection in health of the poor at the time of COVID-19 and lockdowns, please contact CENFACS.

________

References

 

(1) https://www.who.int/health_financing/topics/financial_protection/en/

(2) World Health Organisation (2020), World Health Statistics 2020: Monitoring health for the Sustainable Development Goals @WHO2020

________

 

Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis.  Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service. 

One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

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.