The European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland and Government through the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning, Tuesday 28th July, 2020 unveiled its “Team Europe Initiative” with 1.5 million EUR, equivalent to Le.16.5 billion to support decentralized Covid-19 response in Sierra Leone, enhance response to the virus and mitigate its compounding impact on vulnerable communities.
Jointly launched by Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr Francis Kai Kai, Ms Mary O’Neil, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Ireland, Ms Jamila El-Assaidi, Deputy Head of European Union Delegation, initiative will target districts through NGOs and CSOs with needful materials and support gearing towards mitigating the spread of the pandemic.
A news release jointly issued by both interventions said the two coordinated interventions will be delivered in partnership with Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s across Bombali, Bonthe, Falaba, Kambia, Karene, Kenema, Koinadugu, Moyamba, Port Loko, Tonkolili, and Western Area Urban, reaching an estimated 400,000 individuals.
Fully committed towards supporting Sierra Leone in the fight against the pandemic, the interventions will be implemented by a coalition of NGOs and local authorities led by Trócaire, the official overseas development and aid agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
It will also specifically focus on empowering local actors in Falaba and Karene districts to coordinate and strengthen district-level response interventions along with Action for Advocacy and Development Sierra Leone (AAD-SL) and Kambia District Development and Rehabilitation Organisation (KADDRO), and in close association with the district councils and District Coronavirus Emergency Response Centres (DICOVERCs) of Falaba and Kerene districts.
The intervention will involve operational support to the districts; distribution of locally-produced hygiene materials; awareness raising and information-sharing on support services, support to people in quarantine as well as the most vulnerable post-quarantine households.
The second intervention is a joint Irish agency intervention funded by Irish Aid and implemented by a consortium of Irish headquartered NGOs led by Concern Worldwide – the other members of the consortium are GOAL and Trócaire. The intervention will support the national COVID-19 strategy and response efforts in both urban and rural communities and will be implemented in partnership with the local NGOs AAD-SL, KADDRO, and Social Enterprise Development Sierra Leone (SEND). It will focus on both immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19:
- Communities’ own efforts to prevent/reduce the transmission of the virus will be assisted with information and training in infection, prevention & control (IPC) and the provision of hand-washing and other essential items. The consortium will also support the government’s own ongoing communications and messaging on COVID-19.
- Assistance will be provided to quarantine facilities, Community Care Centres, and other district level structures to help them provide effective services.
- The project will support vulnerable communities address other longer-term impacts of COVID-19 and emergency situations such as seasonal flash flooding. Using a flexible adaptive approach, consortium members plan to implement food security and livelihood protection interventions, work to counter the rising levels of gender based violence, among other measures to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the food, health, and income security of vulnerable populations.
