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Add to Preferred SourcesCOVID-19 crisis underlines the need for refugee solidarity and inclusion, the Antarctic ozone hole is larger and deeper, ‘critical moment’ in COVID response and COVID-19 disrupting mental health services.
Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
COVID-19 crisis underlines need for refugee solidarity and inclusion
While the COVID-19 pandemic has “profoundly tested” global commitment to protecting refugees and forcibly displaced people, it has also shown the value of including refugees in national responses and safety nets to the benefit of all, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs said.
Many governments across the world closed their borders and restricted access to asylum in response to the spread of coronavirus, but the UN Refugee Agency has been clear throughout that it is possible to both protect against the pandemic and ensure access to fair and speedy asylum processes, Triggs told UNHCR’s annual Executive Committee meeting in Geneva.
“The pandemic has shown us the importance of working together, of shared responsibilities, and of the need to ensure that health and other social services meet the needs of us all, not just a few,” Triggs said. “The virus does not discriminate between legal status or nationality. Access to health services does not depend on citizenship or visa conditions.”
These values of inclusion and solidarity with refugees and the forcibly displaced were enshrined in the Global Compact on Refugees, agreed by 181 governments in 2018. It was translated into concrete action in December last year at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, where states, civil society, NGOs, refugees, businesses and other stakeholders came together and made 1,400 pledges to turn the Compact’s vision into reality.
2020 Antarctic ozone hole is large and deep
The annually occurring ozone hole over the Antarctic is one of the largest and deepest in recent years. Analyses show that the hole has reached its maximum size.
The 2020 ozone hole grew rapidly from mid-August and peaked at around 24 million square kilometres in early October. It now covers 23 million km2, above average for the last decade, and spreading over most of the Antarctic continent.
WMO’s Global Atmosphere Watch programme works closely with Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service, NASA, Environment, and Climate Change Canada, and other partners to monitor the Earth’s ozone layer, which protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Countries face ‘critical moment’ in COVID response
With strong leadership and comprehensive strategies it’s never too late for countries to change the trendlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite passing the tragic milestone of one million deaths this week amid regional surges in infections, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO).
To be sure, countries are also seeing some two million new COVID-19 cases each week, WHO Executive Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at his latest press briefing in Geneva.
Describing four varying national situations, he said those countries that jumped on the virus quickly have avoided large outbreaks. Others had large outbreaks but were able to bring them under control and continue to suppress the virus.
Some economies that had controlled an initial outbreak, and subsequently eased restrictions, have seen an increase in cases, he said. And there are still other countries that are in the intense phase of transmission.
COVID-19 disrupting mental health services in most countries, WHO survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey.
The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.
WHO has previously highlighted the chronic underfunding of mental health: prior to the pandemic, countries were spending less than 2 percent of their national health budgets on mental health, and struggling to meet their populations’ needs.
And the pandemic is increasing demand for mental health services. Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones. Many people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety. Meanwhile, COVID-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection ̶ they may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Justin Trudeau announces an extra $400m for development aid to curb COVID-19
The Canadian Prime Minister announced this decision during a video conference at the UN which he co-hosted with Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
E-procurement in the development sector – getting aid online
E-procurement, also known as electronic procurement, is the sale and purchase of supplies, equipment, works, and services through an electronic platform. In a basic sense, instead of manually undertaking activities such as providing offers, exchanging contracts, sending out tender documents, and filling out supplier questionnaires, the entire process is automated. E-procurement requires a technological platform to support electronic interactions between the parties involved in the procurement process.
Remote monitoring: questions you should be considering to make it work
Remote monitoring has been around for quite some time and has become a necessary practice for development actors working in conflict or disease-stricken contexts where security and health risks are high. Although in the recent years the focus has been heavily on innovation and technology with regards to remote monitoring, many guidelines will nevertheless stress the following fact: there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Here’s what else has happened
United States: The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a new, three-year Local Works program that will provide up to $7 million to support local communities in the Mara landscape and Northern and Coastal Kenya as they recover from the loss of tourism and livelihoods because of the pandemic of COVID-19.
EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has embarked on a path to a sustainable, “majority green” future as it prepares to guide its regions to a robust recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
FAO: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a $3 million contribution from Germany and Sweden to help farmers in the world’s most vulnerable countries fight the impact of climate change and to build sustainability.
ADB: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) commits to support Indonesia in achieving inclusive and sustainable recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and boosting its medium-term economic outlook.
Ukraine: The European Commission has allocated an additional €10 million in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable people in eastern Ukraine ahead of the upcoming winter and in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This brings EU humanitarian funding for eastern Ukraine in 2020 to €23 million.
Reports
New Red Cross survey shows COVID-19 affecting mental health of one in two people
Half of all respondents – 51 percent – in a seven-country survey said that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected their mental health, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) survey found.
In a new report – “The greatest need was to be listened to: The importance of mental health and psychosocial support during COVID-19,” – the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement demonstrates how the pandemic is adding an extraordinary level of stress and suffering on communities around the world. The outbreak is worsening existing mental health conditions, triggering new ones, and making access to mental health services even more scarce. It calls for urgent and increased funding for mental health and psychosocial support within humanitarian responses.
Read the report: The greatest need was to be listened to: The importance of mental health and psychosocial support during COVID-19.
Countries step up innovation efforts, using over 500 digital apps to fight COVID-19
From chatbots in Singapore to drones in Oman; from robotic medical assistants in Indonesia to virtual doctors in Brazil; while the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc across the world, governments have been working hard to implement digital solutions to minimize the adverse impact of the virus and to ensure business continuity.
Read the report: Compendium of Digital Government Initiatives in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
UNAIDS issues guidance on reducing stigma and discrimination during COVID-19 responses
Drawing on 40 years of experience from the AIDS response, UNAIDS is issuing new guidance on how to reduce stigma and discrimination in the context of COVID-19. The guidance is based on the latest evidence on what works to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination and applies it to COVID-19.
Read the guidance: Addressing stigma and discrimination in the COVID-19 response.
Events
Virtual | Protect and Invest in People: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19
?15 October 2020 ? 16:00-17:00 (GMT)
Virtual
Join World Bank and explore these challenges and share ideas on how to protect human capital; safeguard the vulnerable; improve remote learning to ensure no child is left behind; deliver vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics to those who need them most; and strengthen health systems for a more resilient future.
Virtual | Conference on Green Financing in Central Europe
?12 October 2020 ? 9.00 AM – 15:00 PM (CET)
Virtual
The National Bank of Hungary (MNB), in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is organising an international green financial conference.
Virtual | Closing the Digital Divide
?16 October 2020 ? 14:00-15:00 (GMT)
Virtual
Digital technologies have become vital. In times of crisis, from natural disasters to pandemics, digital connectivity is what’s keeping people, governments, and businesses connected. Yet half of the world’s population is still without internet access, with the vast majority concentrated in developing countries.
On October 16, join global leaders and private sector innovators as they discuss new ways to accelerate digital access and create ubiquitous, affordable, and reliable connectivity for all.