International solidarity fund vs COVID-19 launched

MANILA, Philippines – A solidarity fund will be awarded to six regions around the world, including Asia, to accelerate the response against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a global alliance involved in raising funds to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) announced recently.

NCD Alliance president Todd Harper said 20 civil society alliances from Africa, Asia, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean and Latin America would be given grants through the first Civil Society Solidarity Fund on Noncommunicable Diseases and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“The coronavirus pandemic shows many intersections between COVID-19 and NCDs. People living with NCDs are more vulnerable to COVID-19, with a substantially higher risk of becoming severely ill or dying from the virus,” he said.

Harper noted the pandemic is also impacting on the poorest communities and the most vulnerable people around the world.

“The civil society solidarity fund was born out of the need to tackle NCDs as fundamental to health security and to prevent a reversal of gains made in NCD prevention and control around the world,” he added.

The alliance will award grants of up to $15,000 to national and regional NCD alliances to support them in addressing the critical needs of people living with NCDs during COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants will support advocacy and communication activities to ensure stronger organizational stability and resilience. The fund totals $300,000.

NCD Alliance chief executive officer Katie Dain said this is a first-of-its-kind fund to support NCD civil society organizations (CSOs)’s response to COVID-19.