This page has a collection of guidelines, tools, statements, papers and useful links which are relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
- General Information
- Humanitarian Coordination
- Forced Migration
- Civil Society space
- Communications and Community Engagement
- Inclusion and Diversity
- Funding
- Statements and commentary
General Information
United Nations
- Global Humanitarian Response Plan COVID-19, 25 March, 2020. Link includes abridged versions in English, French and Arabic.
- UN Secretary General Report: Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, March 2020
World Health Organisation (WHO)
- The WHO website has a range of information, key messages, campaigns and daily virtual media briefings.
- WHO information Network for Epidemics - https://www.epi-win.com/ - collection of communication and community engagement resources
- Department of Global Comms has put together a trello board to house social assets and messaging in one place: https://trello.com/b/vumsShVd/covid19-social-assets-messaging
IATA
- webpage on travel restrictions per country
- webpage on air transport and COVID-19
Humanitarian Coordination
IASC - the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
- IASC webpage on information and guidance on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak
- Interim Guidance on Scaling-up COVID-19 Outbreak in Readiness and Response Operations in Camps and Camp-like Settings (jointly developed by IFRC, IOM, UNHCR and WHO)
- Interim Guidance on COVID-19: Focus on Persons Deprived of their Liberty March 2020, OHCHR and WHO
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Interim Briefing Note Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak (developed by the IASC’s Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support)
- More information about mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings- see IASC MHPSS Reference Group webpage
- Interim Guidance for COVID 19 Prevention and Control in Schools
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Interim Recommendations for Adjusting Food Distribution SoPs in context of COVID 19 outbreak
- See also WFP https://fscluster.org/coronavirus
- How to include marginalized and vulnerable people in risk communication and community engagement
- IASC Interim Guidance: Gender Alert for COVID-19 Outbreak (Developed by the IASC Reference Group for Gender in Humanitarian Action - which includes OCHA, UNHCR, IMC, NRC, UNFPA, Oxfam, WRC, UN Women, UNICEF, CARE International, WFP, HIAS, HelpAge, WHO, UNDP and Concern)
- Interim Technical Note: Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) during COVID-19 Response (developed by WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, IOM, OCHA, CHS Alliance, InterAction and the UN Victims’ Rights Advocate).
- Collective message to donors on how they can better support the pandemic response and ongoing humanitarian operations (developed by the IASC Result Group 5 on Humanitarian Financing)
Global Protection Cluster
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GPC COVID-19 Guidance for Field Operations
Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) - Webinar series CCCM in COVID-19
Sphere Standards- Sphere collates and disseminates emerging practice and evidence in the Coronavirus response and released a four-page document guiding you through the relevant parts of the Sphere Handbook.
CHS Alliance - COVID-19 and the Core Humanitarian Standard: How to meet our CHS commitments in the coronavirus pandemic
Community World Service Asia - Webinar: Quality and Accountability approaches while responding to emergencies 9 April 2020. Looking at using Quality and Accountability approaches while responding to emergencies like COVID-19.
Forced Migration
UNHCR
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UNHCR has created a dedicated COViD-19 RefWorld page and a Covid-19 Situation webpage on Global Focus
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UNHCR stepping up coronavirus prevention measures for refugees across East, Horn and Great Lakes region of Africa, 7 April 2020
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UNHCR Global COVID-19 Emergency Response 1 April 2020
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UNHCR “Community-Based Protection Community of Practice”, which also includes some elements related to the Covid-19
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Age, Gender and Diversity Considerations – COVID-19, 21 March 2020
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Press release The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected in COVID-19 response, 31 March 2020
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COVID-19 crisis: Key protection messages, 31 March 2020
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COVID-19 Response – Regional, R4V Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform (Venezuela)
IOM
- Global Online Mobility Restriction Tracking database: https://migration.iom.int
- IOM COVID-19 Appeal updated March 2020
- Press Release: COVID-19 Does Not Discriminate; Nor Should Our Response
- IOM Scales Up Plans for COVID-19 Readiness and Response, Appeals for USD 116.1 Million, 19 March 2020
Civil Society Action Committee- has organized a Global Statement that organisations can Sign-on to urgently call on States and government authorities at all levels to protect migrants and refugees in this global COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Civil Society Space
ACAPS- Has a list of resources particularly related to government measures- https://www.acaps.org/projects/covid19
Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has gathered resources during COVID-19 to help guide in fundraising, donor communications and more, and what it means to engage with donors during a time in which in-person interaction is likely non-existent.
Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)- geo-map tool that reflects measures taken by states in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic
CIVICUS
- has been collecting Resources in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic for information, resources, and support.
- has launched a campaign to Protect co-workers during COVID-19: A social Security Protocol for Civil Society
ILO - ILO’s policy framework to fight COVID-19, provides a shared template for civil society groups to deliberate context-specific measures and adopt feasible actions in a time-bound and transparent manner.
International Centre for Not-for profit Law (ICNL):
- Has a page that presents key resources and information on how international law provides a framework to uphold human rights during crisis response.
- Established a tracker to monitor government responses to the pandemic that affect civic freedoms and human rights, focusing on emergency laws.
- Published a report that discusses how governmental responses to COVID-19, especially emergency measures, affect civic space and provides recommendations for a rights-respecting rapid response to coronavirus pandemic.
Top10VPN: have been tracking measures taken which affect digital rights in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. The below are the key findings:
TrustLaw- repository of legal resources from their network designed to address the implications of COVID-19 for their non-profit and social enterprise members
University of Oxford- Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT)- see this working paper and visit their website
Communications and community engagement
ALNAP- Resources on COVID-19
BBC Media Action has produced a communications grid for COVID 19. It can be used when thinking about what sort of content is needed and the different types of information that is required to address specific needs. Our top 10 tips for media in the COVID-19 ‘info-demic’
CAN DO paper entitled “Church Agencies and Local Faith Actors in COVID 19 Humanitarian Response” 30 March, 2020
Connect: weekly digest by Internews and H2H Network on combating misinformation on Covid-19.
ELRHA- COVID-19 Resources for humanitarians (includes links to funding opportunities):https://www.elrha.org/news/coronavirus-covid-19-resources-for-humanitarians/
Global Health Network- https://coronavirus.tghn.org/. an open source platform that provides trusted knowledge, guidance, tools and resources to support the generation of more and better health research data.
IASC- How to include marginalized and vulnerable people in risk communication and community engagement
International Civil Society Centre - COVID-19 resources for civil society
ICMHD - International Centre for Migration Health and Development- COVID 19 Notes on Community Quarantine
ICRC- Tip Sheet on the Responsible Use of Online Conferencing Tools, 3 April 2020
IFRC- New Coronavirus Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy Africa Version:3 March 2020
Refugee Response has created a simple animation explaining the basic facts and safety information for COVID-19, currently available in Burmese, Karen, Nepali, Kinyarwanda, Arabic, Swahili with more languages being added.
RET Germany: Education materials in English, French and Kirundi
Translators without Borders: DO YOU SPEAK COVID-19? The importance of language for effective communication across the response, March 2020 Policy Brief,
UNICEF- Key Messages and Actions for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Schools March 2020
Inclusion and Diversity
Older people
Help Age - Protecting older people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (English, Spanish, French, Arabic)
Gender and Gender Based Violence
CARE & IRC – Global Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID-19 March 2020
CARE - COVID-19 Advocacy Position Paper, 31 March 2020
CARE- Gender Implications of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Development and Humanitarian Settings,
IASC Gender based violence (GBV) website- selection of key resources on addressing gender inequality and gender-based violence in COVID-19 preparedness and emergency response- https://gbvguidelines.org/en/knowledgehub/covid-19/
UNFPA-
- Gender based violence (GBV-AoR) - resource hub
- GBV Case Management and the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Country Guidance Notes on GBV Service Provision during the time of COVID-19,
Children
Alliance for child protection in humanitarian action- Protection of Children during the COVID19 pandemic- in 11 languages.
Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) resources to support the provision of education in places affected by COVID-19. Also available in español, français, português, العربية.
Save the Children - COVID-19 resources for Children and Parents
UNICEF- COVID-19 portal – includes latest updates, tips for parents and teachers, and how UNICEF is helping
Child Protection AoR Help Desk has created a dropbox folder with collected global, regional, and country-level resources for COVID-19.-
Funding and economic impact
Act Alliance- Global Act Appeal
Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has gathered resources during COVID-19 to help guide in fundraising, donor communications and more, and what it means to engage with donors during a time in which in-person interaction is likely non-existent.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
Statements/ Commentary
WHO and key leaders including ICVA members- Joint Leader's statement - Violence against children: A hidden crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, 8 April 2020
ICVA Statement- COVID- 19 NGOs critical to the delivery of principled and effective humanitarian assistance 17 March 2020
Act Alliance and Religions for Peace - A Joint Statement - Urgent Action Needed to Prevent COVID-19 25 March 2020
Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA) - Africa Must Include Displaced Populations in COVID-19 Response Plans, 1 April 2020
Alliance for Empowering Partnership (A4EP) - Localised response to COVID-19 global pandemic A4EP Position paper, 21 March 2020
Amnesty International- The G20 must put human rights and the public interest at the heart of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Amnesty International- has released a research paper Responses to COVID-19 and States’ Human Rights Obligations: Preliminary observations 16 March 2020
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network-
Urgent Statement: Global Response to COVID-19 should not undermine the right of Asylum 23 March 2020
Statement: Suspension Of Afghan Refugee Repatriation From Pakistan A Short-Term Solution To A Long-Term Problem, 24 March 2020
Asian Forum for Human Rights- Joint Statement: ASEAN must uphold human rights in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic 23 March 2020Asian Forum for Human Rights- Joint Statement: ASEAN must uphold human rights in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic 23 March 2020
Care international- New COVID-19 Global Rapid Gender Analysis Addresses Concerns of Women and Girls in Pandemic, 1 April 2020
Care international-Gender Implications of COVID-19 in Development and Humanitarian Settings, 16 March 2020
Care Palestine West Bank/ Gaza - Alert -warns of a catastrophe of enormous magnitude with potentially disastrous consequences awaiting the two million Palestinians living in Gaza. 2 April 2020
Chatham House - COVID-19 Impact on Refugees is Also Political, 31 March 2020:
Christian Aid- Role of Faith leaders in Ebola response July 2015
CIVICUS- Open letter: Donors and supporters must act to ensure civil society resilience against COVID-19 pandemic, 19 March 2020
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CoE)- a statement of principles, 20 March 2020
Council of Europe: Statement of principles relating to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, 20 March 2020
Council on Foundations - A Call to Action: Philanthropy’s Commitment During COVID-19 Philanthropic foundations call for flexible funding for NGOs and commitment to long-term, collaborative approaches
CSIS- The Center for Strategic and International Studies Impact of COVID 19 on Humanitarian Crises, 19 March 2020
DevPolicy Blog- COVID-19, localisation and locally led development: A critical juncture 23 March 2020
Here Geneva - After COVID a time to reset ,22 March 2020
HIAS - COVID-19 Response 1 April, 2020
Humanitarian Advisory Group- Think piece‘‘In Case of Emergency: System-Wide Response in the Era of COVID-19", March 2020
ICMC news article referring ICVA statement: “Humanitarian NGOs Call on Donors for Urgent and Systemic Response to COVID-19” 18 March 2020
ICMC Secretary General statement: “May the Coronavirus Crisis Open our Eyes and Hearts”, 18 March 2020
JIF- Letter to donors and UN - Recommendations to the UN and the donor community on strengthening the response to the COVID-19 epidemic, 3 April 2020
JONAF- From legal consultations to food packages, NGO coalition responds to needs of Kingdom’s most vulnerable 7 April 2020
Libya INGO Forum- members commit to support the country to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and call on the authorities for equal and fair access to medical services for all people in Libya [EN/AR] 29 March 2020
New Humanitarian
- webinar ICYMI: How will COVID-19 impact crisis zones? 19 March 2020
- Coronavirus and humanitarian aid response, 19 March 2020
- Coronavirus Pandemic emergency ethics, 18 March 2020
NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) - Briefing note- COVID-19: The immediate and potential long-term risks to vulnerable populations in Iraq, 24 March 2020
Norwegian Refugee Council
- Jan Egeland: Humanitarian work must adapt to dangers of Covid-19. 1 April 2020
- Three ways our programmes are fighting coronavirus, 28 March 2020
- 10 things you should know about coronavirus and refugees, 16 March 2020
NPR Opinon:Refugees Are Especially Vulnerable To COVID-19. Don't Ignore Their Needs, NPR, 11 March 202 0
OXFAM
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Ideas for a Pro-Poor and Pro-Women approach to COVID,13 March 2020
Palestinian Non Governmental Organisations Network (PNGO) - calls upon Donors and Supporters to act now to ensure Palestinian civil society resilience against COVID-19 pandemic, 29 March 2020
Plan International- Vulnerable groups must be supported, 17 March 2020
Refugees International - COVID-19 and the Displaced: Addressing the threat of the novel coronavirus in humanitiarian Emergencies, March 2020
RSIS Commentary - Global Health Security- COVID-19 & Humanitarian Response: Leave No-One Behind, 20 March 2020
Save the Children : COVID-19: Gender Equality Matters Gender equality must be at the center of responses to COVID-19, as a lifesaving measure. April 2020
The Atlantic - Unseen Pandemic: Refugee camps such as those in Bangladesh are a tinderbox for the spread of the coronavirus, 2 April 2020:
UNNM Statement, COVID-19 Does Not Discriminate; Nor Should Our Response, 20 March 2020
Women’s Refugee Commission - Calls for Inclusive and Gender-Sensitive Response to COVID-19 Pandemic 24 March 2020