How do faithless people like me make sense of this past year of Covid?

‘Many of us yearn for meaning. But in our individualistic, secular society we lack even the flimsiest of narratives to guide us...

‘Long before Covid’s arrival, it was clear this was something too many people were losing touch with. Through decades of secularisation, cheered on by irreligious liberals, not nearly enough thought was ever given to what might take on the social roles of a church. The demise of the factory and the collectivised lives that went with it marked another loss. And now, long years of cuts have obliterated many of the shared spaces we had left, from libraries and Sure Starts to community centres.

‘The pandemic has shone unforgiving light on the consequences. A British Academy report on “the long-term societal impacts of Covid-19” found that the age group most likely to experience loneliness during the first lockdown was 16- to 24-year-olds. In the past decade, spending in England and Wales on youth services has been cut by 70%. As life after Covid unfolds, such choices will look not just reckless but downright cruel.

‘Three years ago, Anthony Costello – a former director of maternal and child health at the World Health Organization – published a book titled The Social Edge, focused on the so-called “sympathy groups” that sit between the state and the individual. “Religious or therapy groups have always offered solace and peace and relaxation and friendship,” he wrote. “They help us in our spiritual quest for meaning and wellbeing.” Church groups, choirs, sport and dance clubs, he went on, “bring harmony and relaxation to tired minds” and give people “a greater sense of being alive”.

‘Costello proposed using similar structures to tackle loneliness in old age, prisoner recidivism, “stress in motherhood” and much more. Now, in the context of Covid and its long-term social effects, this sounds like something millions of us might sooner or later need. Whatever our experiences, what we have all been through is huge. And as an act of post-pandemic healing, encouraging the growth of such initiatives would surely not be too hard. Fund and create public spaces – parks, halls, arts venues, meeting rooms – and revive the most grassroots aspects of local government, and you would create roughly the right conditions.’

Read here (The Guardian, Mar 28, 2021)

Equity in vaccination: A plan to work with communities of colour toward Covid-19 recovery and beyond -- Introduction

‘The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had tragic and disproportionate adverse effects on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities across the United States. The number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths related to this disease is significantly higher in these groups. Additionally, members of BIPOC communities are among those hit the hardest by the economic and social upheavals caused by the pandemic.

‘As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign begins, it is critical that vaccines be delivered fairly and equitably—so that everyone has the same level of access to this lifesaving technology. Just as pressing is the need to address longstanding disparities that have created the unequal situation that BIPOC communities are now in.

‘This plan provides elected and appointed officials with the tools to create, implement, and support a vaccination campaign that works with BIPOC communities to remedy COVID-19 impacts, prevent even more health burdens, lay the foundation for unbiased healthcare delivery, and enable broader social change and durable community-level opportunities.

‘The 5 key principles and their associated action items in the plan are:

‘Iteration: Repeated engagement with BIPOC communities is necessary. There is a race to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible, and this urgency must be balanced with the need to build real trust in BIPOC communities. In many areas, this trust is low or nonexistent, which means that building trust will take time. It will require committing to engaging with BIPOC communities, including organizing productive “listen-and-plan” sessions in which community members have the opportunity to explain their thoughts on COVID-19 vaccination and where officials have the opportunity to listen and hear what is being said, and in partnership, put these ideas into action.

 ‘Involvement: Moving forward, BIPOC community representatives and advocates must become active collaborators in the public health process. This will involve implementing mechanisms for 2-way communication (particularly with trusted leaders, influencers, and pillar institutions in local BIPOC communities) and engaging with these key representatives as partners, not as audiences to persuade or subordinates to command. One way this can be done is by encouraging BIPOC individuals and community organizers to actively participate in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in ways that respect their self-determination and strengthen their self-reliance. A longer-term approach is to ensure BIPOC individuals are in positions of power in government and public health.

 ‘Information: Effective communication with BIPOC community members is essential in the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination effort. Applying best practices for communication during this time will be useful for moving forward. As a starting point, it is important to recognize that vaccination messages must be tailored to address the specific concerns of local BIPOC communities. This can be done in one of the following ways (or through a combination of these approaches): identify and support trusted BIPOC individuals and organizations who can relay information and help set community norms related to COVID-19 vaccination, apply learning from “listen-and-plan” sessions to frame COVID-19 vaccination in the communities’ own terms, and enlist allies to blanket BIPOC communities with accurate information that can drown out misinformation.

 ‘Investment: All of the efforts described above will require investments of time, attention, and funding. At the same time, the vaccination process itself can be viewed as an opportunity for economic revitalization, with the potential to lead communities out of the pandemic and its economic hardships. This type of revitalization is particularly important to BIPOC communities that historically, and presently, are often economically challenged. Practical suggestions for investment include: pull together the necessary resources to ensure COVID-19 vaccination is equitable (meaning, easily available to the most marginalized individuals in the community) and then fight to keep these resources in place moving forward; creatively finance nonprofit and for-profit entities with BIPOC community roots to strengthen the vaccination enterprise; and enlist the help of private capital to support vaccination, for example, by getting transportation companies to commit to providing free rides to and from vaccination sites or by having a local grocery store sponsor a “get vaccinated” poster contest for schoolchildren.

 ‘Integration: Looking forward to the end of the pandemic, it is important to recognize that recovery will take time. COVID-19 will have long-lasting physical, psychological, and financial effects, especially in BIPOC communities. Because of this, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign cannot be viewed as a final step in returning to “normalcy.” Instead, it needs to be seen as a step toward a more complete recovery that can, and should, include meaningful social change. This can take place as the recommendations outlined above—including “listen-and-plan” sessions, empowering BIPOC individuals and communities, and investing in equitable public health—are integrated into ongoing community initiatives and as government and public health officials commit to ensuring durable social change and community benefits that include adequate housing, food security, living wages, and leadership opportunities.

‘This approach will be challenging. Some may argue that a lack of time or funding or interest are barriers that make such an approach unrealistic, especially in the middle of a pandemic that is challenging on every front. However, it is important to keep in mind that challenges like the one we are currently facing often stem from social inequity and provide opportunities to change and improve. Some actions may be more appropriate to prioritize in the near term, but many actions that are crucial for the long term will have more of an overall impact if those efforts are initiated now.

‘COVID-19 vaccination is the most likely way out of the current pandemic. It is also an opening to create equity and durable benefits for BIPOC communities, who have been devalued and too often cut out of opportunities in the United States. We hope that you consider this and the specific recommendations made in this report as you begin to implement COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in your own towns, cities, and states.’

Download PDF here (John Hopkins Center for Health Security, Feb 09, 2021) 

CommuniVax: A coalition to strengthen the community’s involvement in an equitable vaccination rollout

‘CommuniVax is a national alliance of social scientists, public health experts, and community advocates who seek lasting solutions to a serious problem: in the United States, historically underserved Black, Indigenous, and Latino populations have endured negative health and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic at tragic and disproportionate rates. While these communities could benefit greatly from safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, longstanding biases and barriers hinder their access to and acceptance of vaccination.

‘The coalition is strengthening national and local COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the United States by putting communities of color at the center of those endeavors. The coalition is listening to Black, Indigenous, and Latino/Latinx individuals on how best to promote awareness of, access to, and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines in their respective communities; and developing longstanding, local governance systems that enable underserved groups to exercise collective agency over their own health and wellness, during this pandemic and going forward. Funding for CommuniVax is provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

‘CommuniVax relies on efforts from 3 groups: local teams, a central working group, and national stakeholders.

• Local Teams are composed of resident researchers, grassroots leaders, and public health implementers. They will engage local communities of color to identify improvements needed to vaccine delivery and communication strategies in their communities.
• The Central Working Group includes experts in public health, public policy, medical science, anthropology, and public involvement. With input from diverse stakeholders, the working group will coordinate the local research processes and ensure the implementation of findings nationwide
• National Stakeholders represent groups with political, technical, cultural, and social justice perspectives on vaccine delivery and uptake. These associations will amplify information generated from local teams within their networks and provide feedback to the central working group.

Read here (John Hopkins Center for Health Security, Feb 2021)

The year global health went local: Bill & Melinda Gates

‘As hard as it is to imagine right now while so many people are still suffering from COVID-19, this pandemic will come to an end someday. When that moment comes, it will be a testament to the remarkable leaders who have emerged over the last year to steer us through this crisis.

‘When we say “leaders,” we don’t just mean the policymakers and elected officials who are in charge of the official government response. We’re also talking about the healthcare workers who are enduring unimaginable trauma on the frontlines. The teachers, parents, and caregivers who are going above and beyond to make sure kids don’t fall behind in school. The scientists and researchers who are working around the clock to stop this virus. Even the neighbors who are cooking extra meals to make sure no one in their community goes hungry.

‘Their leadership will get us through this pandemic, and we owe it to them to recover in a way that leaves us stronger and more prepared for the next challenge. Over the last year, a global threat touched nearly every person on the planet. By next year, we hope an equitable, effective COVID-19 response will have reached the whole world, too.’

Read here  (GatesNotes, Jan 27, 2021)

Almost half of UK charities for world's poorest set to close in a year – Survey

‘Nearly half of the UK’s small charities working with the world’s poorest people expect to close within the next 12 months due to lack of financial support, a survey has found. Despite most of them seeing a spike in demand for their services during Covid-19, 15% of the charities will be forced to shut their doors within the next six months, and 45% within a year, according to data from the Small International Development Charities Network (SIDCN).’

Read here (The Guardian, August 6, 2020)

392 NGOs call on WHO to operationalise fair and equitable benefit sharing of Covid-19 medical products

The NGOs are referring to the benefits arising from the sharing of SARS-CoV-2 digital sequence information and samples as recognised by the Convention on Biological Diversity (which has 196 Parties) and its Nagoya Protocol (which has 123 Parties).

Specifically, they have asked WHO to urgently:

1. Secure binding commitments from biopharmaceutical companies and other manufacturers for the rapid supply of existing and future medical products, especially diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to developing and least developed countries at an affordable price.
2. Organise open platforms for the widespread and unconditional sharing of technology and knowledge including technical specifications, designs, blueprints and any other know-how to scale-up local/regional manufacturing of medical products required for COVID-19 response including diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines; and towards that end to secure binding commitments from biopharmaceutical companies and other medical product manufacturers.
3. Proactively coordinate and direct COVID-19 R&D by setting up an open innovation platform for the rapid public sharing of all research outcomes, knowledge gaps and problem solving, and towards that end secure binding commitments from entities and individuals engaged in the R&D.
4. Ensure that intellectual property rights do not affect or hinder efforts to curb the Covid outbreak.

Download here (Third World Network, letter dated April 24, 2020)