COVID-19 Response - Emergency Preparedness and Response in a Rapidly Changing Global Landscape

This COVID-19 Coordination Call, part of a weekly series organised by CORE Group (see Related Summaries, below), seeks to showcase some creative and innovative approaches being adopted in real time to prepare and respond to the many needs of partners working on the ground around COVID-19. The goal is to identify creative solutions so that those who are most vulnerable get the support and services they need.

In this call, Julie Dargis, Senior Advisor, Global COVID-19 Response, CORE Group, moderates a panel of presenters, followed by a related discussion based on questions submitted by the audience. At the end, she shares some of the latest key resources that have been posted in the CORE Group COVID-19 Library.

Presentations for this coordination call included:

1. Presentation: READY - Global Readiness for Major Disease Outbreak Response
By: Carla Sanchez, Senior Specialist Behavior Change and Community Health, Save the Children
The READY initiative seeks to augment what already exists to build the capacity of non-governmental organisations (NGO) to respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Its 3 primary objectives are to: (i) improve NGO coordination, (ii) strengthen operational capacity, and (iii) adapt and develop technical readiness. READY is a partnership of organisations led by Save the Children. The presentation explains how READY was initiated to address gaps in the NGO response to disease outbreaks, and then outlines what they have done in relation to COVID-19, which includes: running COVID-19 readiness workshops across the globe (covering a range of issues including social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) and risk communication and community engagement (RCCE)); supporting global coordination mechanisms; and developing guidance documents. A number of lessons learned are shared that emerged from the workshops. They include the fact that there is a lack of community case management (CCM) training among NGOs and that COVID-19 guidelines are often removed from the lived reality of individuals.

2. Presentation: Evidence-based COVID-19 Response Training and Education: Lessons Learned
By: Tom Cotter, Director of Emergency Response & Preparedness, Project HOPE
Project Hope is a global health organisation that focuses on health system capacity building. They were on the frontlines of COVID-19 really early on, as they have a country office in Wuhan, China. The presentation describes the organisation's early response activities in China and how these were rolled out globally. One aspect of their response was the development of a readiness and response curriculum and training for healthcare workers and frontline personnel. The presentation describes the training topics and how the training was designed to address the need to reach a lot of people remotely and in contexts where one size does not fit all. The model they developed involved, among other things, the train-the-trainers methodology, which allows for localisation of training and ownership. It also: makes use of innovative delivery methods, entails work with partners to identify participants and coordinate the training, and is designed to be flexible to allow content to be updated on an ongoing basis.

3. Presentation: COVID-19 - Community Perspectives Inform the Emergency Response
By: Ombretta Baggio, Senior Advisor, Community Engagement and Accountability, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
This presentation focuses on the work being done by IFRC around community engagement, which includes misinformation management, establishing community feedback mechanisms, and creating stigma prevention messaging. Related to this, 6 lessons are shared that highlight the importance, among other things, of building trust, listening to the community, and keeping engagement dynamic and agile in a changing environment. The presentation also offers 4 solutions guiding the work of IFRC, especially around RCCE. They include citizen listening and rumour tracking through surveys to inform community engagement and response, as well as building trust by working with key influencers. With the need to move away from face-to-face interaction, a few examples of how IFRC is currently engaging with communities are also discussed, such as the use of radio and hotlines. The presentation ends with a list of IFRC resources.

4. Presentation: Global Response to COVID-19: Pioneering Local Manufacturing for Better Aid
By: Claire Louise Travers, Global Impact Lead, Field Ready and Eric James, Executive Director, Field Ready
This presentation looks at the work of Field Ready, an organisation that seeks to address the issue of emergency equipment supply chains and the fact that 60-80% of aid is spent on logistics, as well as the fact that importing equipment from other countries causes unnecessary delays. Through 3D design, Field Ready has been able to move manufacturing closer to where items are required. The impacts are discussed, which include cost reduction and support to livelihoods and local business. A number of examples are offered, such as a simple umbilical cord clip and buckets for use in humanitarian crisis situations. In relation to COVID-19, Field Ready has activated the local manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE) and health and hygiene equipment. The presentation looks in particular at what has been done in Nepal and Bangladesh, where Field Ready has been active for a while. Here, people who have been trained in digital design and manufacturing are making a range of PPE. They are being supported by technical teams who test the designs before they go into larger production.

On February 6 2020, CORE Group began a series of weekly calls (see Related Summaries, below) to convene members and partners to discuss their institutional positions around a range of topics related to COVID-19 in an effort to coordinate and support the global pandemic response. During each call, people who signed up for the discussion have the opportunity to ask questions and give input, and these discussions are also included in the recording. To receive updates and coordination call announcements, subscribe to CORE Group's One Health Interest Group listserv or email the listserv using: onehealth@lists.coregroup.org.