Launched by Global Citizen and the World Health Organization (WHO), One World: Together At Home is a global broadcast special premiering on April 18, designed to unify people around the world, highlight the valiant efforts of health workers, and support the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is leading the global effort to end the pandemic by coordinating relief efforts, researching potential treatments and vaccines, and providing essential supplies and support to health care facilities, especially those in developing nations.
But the WHO isn’t the only organization helping people and health systems during the COVID-19 crisis. Local and regional organizations worldwide are stepping up to support communities affected by coronavirus by providing food, health care, hygiene supplies, education, and more.
This week, in the lead up to One World: Together At Home, we’re highlighting some of our Regional Response Partners, who are working hard to meet important needs in various communities. You can learn more about them below.
1. Americares
Americares is providing critically needed protective supplies – masks, gowns, gloves and disinfectants – as well as emotional support and skill-building workshops for health workers in COVID-19 global hot spots, including in the United States, the Bahamas, Haiti, Honduras, India, Lebanon, the Philippines and Tanzania. In the U.S. alone, Americares has delivered 25 tons of protective supplies to health facilities in 40 states.
2. Australian Red Cross
Australian Red Cross is working to mobilize their 35,000 volunteers to support vulnerable communities across the country, including making more than 18,000 calls to people in isolation and developing emergency relief packages for individuals in need.
3. Bancos de Alimentos México (BAMX)
BAMXis reaching 1.4 million Mexicans to provide hunger relief with guaranteed food support. Given the complex economic outlook, more Mexicans will be requesting the critical support BAMX provides. With only MXN $170 pesos (approx US $6.70), BAMX can feed a family for one week.
4. Born This Way Foundation
Born This Way Foundation is offering mental health resources to young people to reduce stigma and promote conversation, and is encouraging the public to spread kindness online through the Foundation's ChannelKindness.org platform. As well, in partnership with local and national organizations, the Foundation is researching the impact of social distancing and increased reliance on technology among Millennials and Generation Z and plans to release its findings in the coming months.
5. CanadaHelps
CanadaHelps is supporting a range of COVID-19 response efforts including CanadaHelps Healthcare and Hospitals Fund and CanadaHelps Community Care Fund and hundreds of organizations working on the front lines of COVID-19 response.
6. CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is developing vaccines which could put a permanent end to the devastation caused by COVID-19. The first clinical trials of CEPI-supported vaccines are already underway, and CEPI’s ambition is to make vaccines against COVID-19 available for broad use as quickly as possible.
7. CARE
CARE is building handwashing stations, providing soap and clean water, and equipping frontline workers with essential supplies. CARE's teams, many with experience fighting epidemics like Ebola and Zika, are on the ground in 50 countries combating the spread of COVID-19 right now.
8. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Foundation's Emergency Response Fund
The CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund, which was activated for the COVID-19 pandemic, is funding medical supplies, increasing lab capacity, deploying emergency staffing to US public health agencies, addressing health communication needs, boosting clinical research to improve health outcomes, and more.
9. Covenant House
Covenant House has quickly operationalized its Emergency Response Plan to ensure its programs in 31 cities throughout the US, Canada, and Latin America have the supplies and resources necessary 24/7 to combat COVID-19 while continuing to serve low-income youth who have experienced homelessness.
10. Crisis Text Line
Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 mental health support in the U.S, Canada, the U.K. and Ireland. Their trained crisis counselors are helping people navigate issues related to COVID-19 such anxiety, isolation, grief, and domestic violence.
11. Destination Home
Destination Home is providing emergency financial assistance to vulnerable, low-income residents in Santa Clara County, with immediate assistance to help pay rent or meet other basic needs. Since March, more than 4,400 requests have been processed, with another 7,000 people added to a waitlist.
12. Direct Relief
Direct Relief is working in overdrive to get protective gear and critical medical resources to as many health workers as possible, as quickly as possible, with emergency deliveries leaving daily for nurses and doctors across the U.S. and globally. To date, Direct Relief has delivered more than 2.4 million masks, 2.6 million gloves and thousands of other items to more than 1,100 health facilities in 32 countries all 50 United States.
13. Education Cannot Wait
Education Cannot Wait has launched the COVID-19 First Emergency Response program, helping teachers, parents, caregivers, and local responders provide education to the most vulnerable children in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
14. Feeding America
Feeding America has established the COVID-19 Response Fund, which delivers emergency grants across a network of 200 food banks to support local response efforts, and helps to build an inventory of emergency food boxes to distribute to food banks across the country.
Volunteers pack home delivery food boxes at a Feeding Westchester food bank distribution center, which is part of the Feeding America nationwide network, in Elmsford, NY, March 16, 2020.
Volunteers pack home delivery food boxes at a Feeding Westchester food bank distribution center, which is part of the Feeding America nationwide network, in Elmsford, NY, March 16, 2020.
15. First Responders Children’s Foundation
First Responders Children’s Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is supporting all of our nation's first responders experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation is awarding grants to EMTs, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients and employees supporting first responders.
16. Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada is supporting more than 3,000 food banks and community agencies, serving the most vulnerable Canadians who, last year, made 1.1 million visits per month to food banks — a number they expect to rise significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
17. The Fred Hollows Foundation
The Fred Hollows Foundation is working to reduce transmission of COVID-19 within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and gearing up to support more than ten COVID-19 response projects across Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Laos PDR, and Bangladesh.
18. Hunger Free America
Hunger Free Americais coordinating food responses with government agencies and nonprofit partners to ensure low-income Americans receive the help they need during the health and economic crises. By assisting families and individuals enroll in SNAP, WIC, and SNAP Pandemic EBT benefits in addition to operating the USDA National Hunger Hotline, Hunger Free America is connecting more than 500 households each day with food assistance.
19. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has provided urgent support to lower-income countries, helping them to protect health care workers with personal protective equipment (PPE), perform vital surveillance and training, and fund diagnostic tests.
20. Give2Asia
Give2Asia is funding trusted, local nonprofits responding to COVID-19 in 23 countries across the Asia-Pacific. They have already supported delivery of 400,000 masks, hundreds of life-saving medical devices, and 50,000+ meals to support frontline health workers.
21. The Global Fund
The Global Fund has moved swiftly to fight COVID-19 by making up to US$1 billion available through the COVID-19 Response Mechanism that allows countries to use savings from existing grants to purchase protective equipment, diagnostics and medical supplies.
22. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is helping to sustain learning for up to 355 million children, with a focus on girls and poor children, who will be hit the hardest by school closures. GPE has also provided $8.8 million in emergency funding to UNICEF to help governments coordinate response planning, communicate around safe school operations, share knowledge and build capacity.
23. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s assets have been repurposed to respond to #COVID19, including disease surveillance, social mobilization, training of personnel, coordination structures in at least 11 countries so far, and potentially more.
24. Growing Hope Globally
Growing Hope Globally is responding to the lives and the livelihoods that are being lost to the Covid-19 pandemic by supporting smallholder farmers in rural areas around the world. Growing Hope Globally is working with partners through 40 agricultural development programs in 24 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to ensure that they can grow enough to feed their families — because everyone needs to eat.
25. In Kind Direct
In Kind Directis supporting millions of vulnerable people across the UK to access essentials like toiletries, handwash and feminine care products to help them keep clean, safe and well during the coronavirus crisis. By the end of 2020, vital supplies worth £12m will be distributed to over 3,500 charities involved in the relief effort.
26. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has launched the COVID-19 Rural Poor Stimulus Facility to help ensure the health crisis doesn’t become a food and hunger crisis and to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on rural small-scale farmers and producers across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
27. International Medical Corps
International Medical Corps is rapidly expanding capacity at hospitals in hotspots around the United States and supporting health facilities in some 30 countries globally. To date, International Medical Corps has trained 6,659 front line health workers; distributed 715,000 pieces of personal protective equipment and related supplies; and supported 172 at-risk health facilities around the world.
28. The Italian Red Cross
The Italian Red Cross has been on the front lines since the beginning of the Covid-19 emergency, supporting the nation's emergency response, providing health services and offering psychological support. More recently, the Italian Red Cross has intensified all services dedicated to support the most vulnerable community members as part of its effort called “Il tempo della gentilezza” which translates to "time of kindness".
29. LISC's Rapid Relief and Resiliency initiative
LISC's Rapid Relief and Resiliency initiative is supporting tens of thousands of residents in need across the United States and Puerto Rico. LISC does this by providing grants, loans and tech infrastructure to more than 2,000 community-based organizations and to thousands of small businesses, especially those owned by women and people of color and rooted in historically underserved places hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
30. One Acre Fund
One Acre Fund is serving African farmers who are at the frontlines of ensuring food security in this critical time. In response to COVID-19, One Acre Fund is mobilizing its network of 8,000 trusted rural staff and more than 100,000 community volunteers to deliver critical farming supplies and technical assistance that ensure local farmers stay safe and open for business.
31. Matthew 25: Ministries
Matthew 25: Ministries is distributing emergency supplies to hospitals, first responders, nursing homes, and other organizations caring for high-risk populations like the sick, the elderly, and the impoverished. As part of their initial response, more than 265,000 pounds of supplies have been distributed to more than 400 organizations nationwide, including personal protective equipment, personal care products, cleaning supplies, batteries, and other desperately needed items.
32. Mexican Red Cross
Mexican Red Cross is a humanitarian assistance organization affiliated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The organization is focused on national COVID-19 prevention and response efforts in Mexico, including raising funds to guarantee PPE equipment for frontline health workers and setting up provisional hospitals for impacted communities.
33. No Kid Hungry
No Kid Hungry is supporting hungry kids in the US impacted by coronavirus by sending emergency relief, with grants going to more than 147 schools and community groups, allowing them to serve an estimated 1.7 million meals a day during this crisis.
34. Rural Health Advocacy Project
As a rural health hub in South Africa, Rural Health Advocacy Project is working with its partners to facilitate equitable access to healthcare, information, food and other essentials to rural communities in need.
35. Save the Children
Save the Children is working around the world, including in the UK, to flatten the curve on the Covid-19 pandemic through frontline health work to prevent to spread of the virus and reduce the impact on children’s lives and ensuring vulnerable children who are now out of school and susceptible to abuse, are protected.
36. Second Harvest
Second Harvest is supporting over 1,500 non-profit organizations across Canada that are working around the clock to get food to the people who need it. In the past month alone, Second Harvest has redistributed enough food to provide almost 2 million meals to Canadians.
37. Shining Hope for Communities
Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) is mobilizing a network of 140,000 volunteer residents across Kenya's three largest cities to keep COVID-19 out of the country's poorest neighborhoods. Together with community leaders, they are providing soap to every household.
Volunteers assist children to wash their hands at a temporary hand-washing station set up by Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) in the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 20, 2020.
Volunteers assist children to wash their hands at a temporary hand-washing station set up by Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) in the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 20, 2020.
38. Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response nonprofit, is actively staffing food banks across the US in partnership with Feeding America's 200 local affiliates to help sort, pack and distribute food to vulnerable populations. Team Rubicon is also manning mobile testing sites and standing up field hospitals to decompress healthcare systems overwhelmed by coronavirus.
39. UNICEF Australia
UNICEF Australia has delivered 13 tons of urgently needed supplies to affected areas, including protective suits, masks, goggles, and gloves for use by health workers. UNICEF plans to deliver a further US $12.2 million in supplies to support the response in Australia.
40. The United Nations World Food Programme and the United Nations Children's Fund
The United Nations World Food Programme and the United Nations Children's Fund are ensuring that schoolchildren receive the meals and health services they critically depend on. Both agencies aim to reach 10 million children in 30 of the most vulnerable countries that have been affected by school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
41. United Way of New York City
United Way of New York City is mobilizing a network of 700 community partners to support communities who are disproportionately impacted by coronavirus with a focus on the educational, hunger-related and economic consequences of the outbreak.
42. World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen is serving tens of thousands of meals to children and families, as well as seniors who cannot venture outside, in places like New York City, Washington, DC, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Newark, Oakland, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami, Puerto Rico, and USVI — with more to come.
A worker is photographed as he hands out packages of free food prepared by World Central Kitchen at Beatstro restaurant amid the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, NY on April 11, 2020.
A worker is photographed as he hands out packages of free food prepared by World Central Kitchen at Beatstro restaurant amid the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, NY on April 11, 2020.