General information about COVID-19
This open-access web-based platform promotes the exchange of field-based COVID-19 program adaptations and innovations, facilitating learning among organizations in different sectors and contexts.
This page has a collection of guidelines, tools, statements, papers and useful links which are relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
News articles, blog posts, opinion papers and analyses
Devex Coronavirus news coverage
The latest on how the coronavirus is affecting global development.
The New Humanitarian news coverage
News articles, opinion and analyses on current events in the global development environment
Humanitarian Alternatives Covid-19 : Impacts in the humanitarian field
(aussi disponible en français)
News articles from our COVID-19 newsletter
Latest COVID-19 news
Fight ‘shadow pandemic’ by overhauling funding strategy, women leaders say
COVID-19 is weakening social, educational, and health services access for women and girls. But the crisis also provides an opportunity to dismantle traditional development funding structures, and create a more equitable system that reaches more women, especially women of color, according to female development leaders. Read more…
In Burkina Faso, violence and COVID-19 push children out of school and into harm’s way
“The epidemic of COVID-19 is worsening an already critical situation regarding the education of children who are trapped in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” said Anne Vincent, representative for the UN’s children agency in Burkina Faso, UNICEF. Read more…
What’s behind the mass protests in Mali?
Protesters took to the streets of Mali’s capital on Friday afternoon for the latest in a series of mass demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has struggled to stem rising jihadist and inter-communal violence in northern and central parts of the country after seven years in power. Read more…
Covid-19 could worsen humanitarian crisis across the globe: WHO
“Although COVID-19 has rightly captured the world’s attention, we must also remember it is not the only crisis the world is facing. Many countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East, are still reeling from years of conflict and other humanitarian crises. COVID-19 threatens to exacerbate many of these crises,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said at a press briefing on Friday. Read more…
New report identifies 27 countries heading for COVID-19-driven food crises
New analysis by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) identifies 27 countries that are on the frontline of impending COVID-19-driven food crises, as the pandemic’s knock-on effects aggravate pre-existing drivers of hunger. No world region is immune. Read more…
Humanitarian Aid: €64.7 million for most vulnerable in Southern Africa
Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management, said: “The EU is helping to provide life-saving assistance to impoverished households suffering from crop and livestock losses due to drought. The aid package will also strengthen the preparation and response to the coronavirus pandemic for countries in the region. Read more…
West and Central Africa: More than 15 million expected cases of acute malnutrition in 2020
15.4 million cases of acute malnutrition in children under five years old are expected in 2020 in West and Central Africa – one third of them from its most severe form – if adequate measures are not put in place now, warned the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Read more…
Sexual abuse in aid sector still ‘widespread’
Almost two years on from a landmark summit on safeguarding in the aid sector, sexual abuse and exploitation are still “widespread” and continuing unreported, according to experts.[…] “The conditions of COVID-19 are putting communities more at risk in many ways. A lot of funding is moving to the COVID-19 pandemic response, away from things like gender-based-violence services,” Read more…
Politics gets in the way of Nigeria’s COVID-19 response
The severity of a country’s outbreak of COVID-19 is largely measured by its official national statistics. But not only are there wide variations in the reliability of these figures, they can also mask the severity of localized outbreaks in cities and states. In a federal country like Nigeria, the success or failure of COVID-19 control measures often hinges on state governments taking the lead. Read more…
Future HIV/AIDS response: ‘Some things we will need to do differently’
Those targets are now unlikely to be met, Byanyima said, and the novel coronavirus pandemic is further threatening to throw the global AIDS response off-course. UNAIDS and the World Health Organization have warned governments of additional 500,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2021, and a rise in HIV infections in children if disruptions to HIV services due to COVID-19 continue. Read more…
Study shows risk of mother-to-child transmission of COVID-19 virus
A new study shows the potential risk of in-utero mother-to-child transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 virus, although one of the study’s authors said further studies are needed to draw a definitive conclusion. […] The results showed one case of the virus found in the vaginal mucosa, one case of the virus found in breast milk, and two cases where the babies tested positive for the virus via nasopharyngeal swabs. Read more…
Women and children lose 20% of health, social services to COVID-19
Globally, women and children are losing access to 20% of their health and social services as a result of COVID-19, according to new findings by senior global health experts commissioned by the United Nations. Approximately 13.5 million children have missed life-saving vaccinations over the past four months, and some kids in low-income countries may never receive these routine shots. Read more…
Blog posts, opinion papers and analyses from our COVID-19 newsletters
Latest opinion and analysis papers
The international humanitarian response to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a tragic and overwhelming impact on fragile and conflict-affected countries. The humanitarian response to COVID-19 in these contexts has escalated many of the challenges long considered by the international community. Read more…
Le rôle central de la santé communautaire dans la lutte contre la pandémie de la Covid-19 : l’expérience de Médecins du Monde Canada ( The central role of community health in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic: the experience of Médecins du Monde Canada )
L’approche communautaire serait-elle une des solutions à la distanciation sociale qui, à la faveur de la pandémie actuelle, a montré toute son étendue ? C’est toute l’argumentation que développent ici les trois auteures, membres de Médecins du Monde Canada. Lire plus… (English version here)
Opinion: Tackling the twin burdens of NCDs and COVID-19
COVID-19 has been unforgiving for people living with noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, such as diabetes, cardiovascular-related illness, cancers, and mental health conditions, as well as other conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity. Read more…
Opinion: The power of choice — ensuring access to family planning in the COVID-19 era
The coronavirus pandemic is causing tremendous upheaval to health systems around the world, disrupting access to family planning information and services, as well as to sexual and reproductive health more broadly. It is crucial that sexual and reproductive health and rights remain a priority despite these challenges, and they must be part of the ongoing discussion about how to best achieve universal health coverage. Read more…
Une épreuve de dignité : regard anthropologique sur les réponses à la Covid-19 en Afrique de l’Ouest ( A test of dignity: an anthropological analysis of Covid-19 responses in West Africa )
Vue d’Afrique et vécue en Afrique. C’est à cette double lecture que se livrent les trois auteurs dont l’analyse anthropologique permet une mise en perspective salutaire dans la manière dont la pandémie de la Covid-19 a été appréhendée par les populations, les scientifiques et les politiques. Lire plus… (English version here)
COVID-19 changed the world. Can it change aid, too?
“The pandemic will change everything, and is forcing a ‘new normal’” says Dr. Nilab Mobarez, secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent. She is concerned about many things – how children will be educated if they can’t go to school, how healthcare can be provided in areas where access is limited due to the ongoing war. Read more..
Dans le cadre de la série Regards de l’IEIM, nous avons le plaisir de vous proposer cette semaine un texte sur la coopération internationale en temps de pandémie. Le texte vise à analyser l’influence de la pandémie sur les programmes canadien et québécois d’aide internationale à la lumière des nombreuses interrogations que soulève la crise sanitaire. Lire plus…
Opinion: Turning the tide in development — an inclusive response to COVID-19
As media headlines became dominated with news that COVID-19 had reached Europe and North America, there were claims that it was the “great equalizer.” It was a threat that would not discriminate along the lines of historical markers of power and privilege. Read more..
Opinion: COVID-19 calls for disrupting the way we communicate in a crisis
Effective communication is the single most important factor in controlling COVID-19 — as every epidemiologist will tell you. Yet, as the disease continues to spread to some of the most marginalized communities on Earth, the humanitarian response is hitting a wall. […] It is time for disruption — for the entire humanitarian community to rethink the role of language and language technology. We must all invest in new language technologies if we want to generate real impact at speed. Read more…
Navigating through the UN COVID-19 response and procurement priorities
The unprecedented nature of the coronavirus crisis has impacted more than 190 countries, 89% of which are in economic recessions caused by a drastic decline in trade and tourism and a rapid increase in public debt. The pandemic is not just a major health crisis; it has also had ripple effects for economies, societies, human welfare, and the environment. Read more…
Publications and resources
CISAF gathers a variety of publications, tools and training materials related to safety and security in the international humanitarian field. These resources offer valuable content on topics such as Health & Wellness, Gender Equality & Gender-based Violence, Duty of Care & Risk Management, Humanitarian Coordination and Food Security.
Visit our members’ section or join CISAF’s membership to access this content.