Umanitarian Aid on the move MARCH 2021 - N 22 - ALNAP
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umanitarian
N°22
Aid on the move MARCH 2021
© Tim Dennell
2020: HOW THE PANDEMIC
AFFECTED THE AID SECTOR
table of contents
2 ‘COVID-19 feedback exercise’:
what happened, and what we
learned
François Grünewald
10 COVID-19: Overcoming
controversies and achieving a
more predictive form of crisis 40 point of view
management From aid to mutual aid…
Jean-Luc Poncelet by Xavier Ricard-Lanata
20 interview 46 Humanitarian aid: changing
with Marie Cougoureux, the paradigm and living with
Head of the ‘Halte Humanitaire’ trouble
Marie Bécue, Laurent Denis, Demba Diack,
Daouda Diouf, Pascal Revault
26 How the pandemic questions
humanitarian aid
Cécile Aptel 52 The impacts of COVID-19
from a gender perspective
Marie Bécue
33 Lessons learned from the
COVID-19 response : the case
of the Disasters Emergency 58 Groupe URD’s COVID-19
Committee Observatory
Véronique de Geoffroy, François Grünewald,
Charlotte Heward, Laurent Saillard 60 bibliography
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move
editorial
SPECIAL ISSUE by Valérie Léon
2020: how the pandemic
affected the aid sector
n 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed At the same time, the pandemic boosted
the weaknesses of the humanitarian certain issues that the aid sector has been
sector in the face of a global and systemic talking about for years (the increased role
crisis. International aid organisations were of local actors, the environmental footprint
subjected to significant constraints, limiting of aid, integrating climatic risks into project
their ability to take action due to movement design, etc.).
restrictions, but also due to the stigmatisation
of staff, lack of trust within communities and he global crisis caused by COVID-19
the system’s lack of agility. Despite these therefore appears to be an opportunity
difficulties, humanitarian organisations did and a decisive moment to reorientate the
show a great deal of adaptability in order to way humanitarian action is implemented. By
pursue their programmes and deploy their raising questions about its approach and its
COVID-related activities. But the pandemic operational methods, it has forced the sector to
brought home the fact that international rethink the roles of different actors and the way
organisations only have a marginal role to that international aid functions. These issues
play in responding to a multi-sector crisis of are all the more important as the current crisis
this scale. could just be a ‘foretaste’ of crises to come
due to climate breakdown and its multiple
or their part, national and local actors consequences.
were often better placed to gain
access to and communicate with people, n 22-24 September 2020, we were
particularly to disseminate public health and able to hold the Autumn School on
prevention information, to identify priority Humanitarian Aid, with around thirty people
cases and deliver vital assistance. Despite (respecting relevant protective measures!)
all the constraints, new forms of activism present at Groupe URD’s headquarters.
and grassroots action blossomed all over In the light of recent work carried out by
the world to bring about change or provide Groupe URD (the COVID-19 Observatory),
assistance. the Autumn School underlined the need to
rethink and reinvent the operational methods
he health crisis and its secondary of the international aid sector so that it can fully
effects highlighted shortcomings and play its role in meeting the challenges ahead
inequalities of all kinds, in both the Global and counter the inward-looking tendencies of
South and the Global North, which sometimes societies in all crisis contexts, both in the North
led to genuine humanitarian and social crises. and the South.
1 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22
‘COVID-19 feedback contaminated people had already
exercise’: what happened, begun spreading the virus on every
and what we learned continent. Fears began to rise
when several clusters were found
by François Grünewald outside Asia (Italy, Iran, etc.) and
on 24 January the first three cases
Using the Open Space method, a feedback were announced in France, all
exercise was carried out during the Autumn linked to people who had travelled
School on Humanitarian Aid about the different from China. But it was only on 30
facets of the COVID-19 crisis and how it was January that the WHO declared
managed. The initial part of the exercise consisted that the COVID-19 epidemic was
of collectively establishing a timeline of the events
a ‘Public Health Emergency of
that took place. The workshop looked at three
International Concern’.
distinct periods (prior to 15 March, between 15
March and 31 May, and since 1 June 2020), and
focused on three areas: what happened; the After this initial period when the
measures implemented and actions undertaken; situation appears to have been
what we learned. This article attempts to describe underestimated, a first major
the ‘timeline’ that was drawn up. cluster was identified in Italy in
mid-February, then another in
1
France, and soon after in Spain.
/ PRIOR TO After a period of doubt about the
15 M A R C H 2020 seriousness of the problem, monitoring
systems were set up at the beginning of
March. These quickly helped to assess
What happened the scale of the epidemic in Europe.
Meanwhile, in the United States, which
Though a certain number of elements appeared to have been spared, the
seem to indicate that SARS-COV-2 situation suddenly deteriorated. The
was already present in Europe in the WHO officially declared that COVID-19
last months of 2019, it was in January could be characterised as a pandemic
2020 that things began to gather pace on 11 March, while the first cases were
when China sounded the alarm after found in Africa, generally linked to
discovering a form of pneumonia with people arriving from China or Europe.
an unknown source. From 22 January,
the 6 million inhabitants of the province At this time, the epidemic seemed to
of Wuhan were locked down, but be gradually coming under control in
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 2
Asia and many were astonished to see place. As such, they had to consider
Chinese aid arriving in Italy. It was not withdrawing key staff, develop conti-
until almost every country was locked nuity plans, and establish mecha-
down that Europe and the majority of nisms and tools to adapt activities to
the world properly took stock of the remote management. Staff also had
situation: the impact of the pandemic to be protected, which was made
on health, but also, and perhaps possible by the first instalments of
especially, the measures implemented emergency funding. Certain orga-
to control the movement of people and nisations (e.g. Action contre la faim
goods that were progressively put in and Médecins sans frontières) set up
place to stop the virus spreading. crisis units to monitor the epidemic
and launch initial responses.
Measures implemented and actions At this stage, the availability of
taken equipment was not yet an issue
and few experts were mobilised.
Soon, alerts were issued from The response was implemented by
numerous sources. Recommendations staff in the field. In rich countries,
and protocols began to be sent to women played a major role in trying
the field, notably the Middle East and to control the virus (e.g. as care as-
Africa. Following the internal alert that sistants, nurses, those who made
was issued on 20 January, Médecins masks, childminders, housekeepers,
du Monde began to produce COVID-19 and domestic helpers), often working
memos as of 6 February. COVID-19 without protection. Two major issues
Task Forces were set up (mid-February emerged: that of anticipation-prepa-
for the International Committee of the ration, and that of protecting carers.
Red Cross, mid-March for Coordination
2
Sud and OCHA). In France, the Ministry
for European and Foreign Affairs set up / BETWEEN 15 MARCH
a crisis unit to advise embassies and AND 31 MAY 2020
begin organising the return of French
citizens.
What happened
What we learned Due to the rapid saturation of health
systems, Italy and then France decided
At the beginning of March, many to lock down, followed by other
organisations began to understand countries, in a relatively uncoordinated
that a major change was taking manner. Europe became the epicentre
3 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22
of the crisis as of 13 March, followed to have few cases, despite initial
by the United States, and particularly fears because of the weak capacity
New York State, as of 11 April. of many African health systems to
European and international flights manage epidemics. The international
were halted, and most airports closed. community began to receive more
Lockdowns of different kinds were detailed information about the reality
implemented almost everywhere in of the pandemic in China, which led to
the world. a virulent attack against the WHO by
Donald Trump.
It became clear that the COVID-19
crisis would also be a social crisis. The
restrictions particularly affected those Measures implemented and action
in the most insecure low-paid jobs taken
who were unable to work from home.
Schools were also closed, bringing the While debates raged within sections
risk of deschooling, etc. The situation of the health sector and the media
became increasingly difficult for all about treatments and methods of
those who were no longer able to transmission, aid practitioners – who
work, and thos who no longer had were also locked down – began to review
access to food due to lockdowns and their strategies. Protecting medical
the slowing down of international staff was one of the first priorities, but
and local trade. A new term was withdrawing expatriate staff raised
coined in France – ‘premiers de corvée’ numerous questions about local
(roughly meaning ‘those who do the capacity and the ability to coordinate
hard work’) – referring to those who with expatriates. Organisations began
work in healthcare, cleaning, the food to establish systems for monitoring
sector, waste disposal, water supply, cases and situations in the countries
electricity, etc., who often are not very where they were implementing
visible but who play a crucial role in the projects, with maps of each country.
functioning of modern societies. With visits by headquarters no longer
possible, and concerns about risks for
Towards mid-May, lockdown was staff, practitioners in the field began
lifted in a certain number of countries, to define the due diligence that they
including France, but people were should exercise. While it was necessary
encouraged to limit their mobility. At to put in place systems to protect staff,
the same time there was a serious and particularly medical staff (and
deterioration of the situation in the equip health ministry staff), many
Americas (e.g. Brazil, Peru, and the questions were raised about supplies
United States), while Africa continued of personal protective equipment
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 4
(PPE), which became the object of WebEx, Teams, Skype, etc. It was the
international competition. In April there beginning of a long period…
was a global shortage of PPE stocks,
including FFP2 masks, leading to cases The development of response
where these were requisitioned by the strategies raised important questions
authorities. What is more, the large about issues of prioritisation in the
number of orders for these placed in health sector (COVID-19 vs. other
China showed that many countries, medical problems), and also about the
including rich countries, were not role of social assistance, and even food
prepared for such a pandemic, despite assistance. Subsequently, numerous
the numerous warnings that there had fund-raising campaigns were launched
been in recent years. to manage the COVID-19 crisis
(26 March: joint appeal by the Red
At the same time, international aid Cross and Red Crescent; UN appeal), a
organisations began to detect cases substantial number of technical notes
among their staff, which led to a were produced (by WHO, the WASH
tightening of lockdown protocols. As Cluster, the Sphere project, USAID,
a result, staff became increasingly etc.), and think tanks and academic
dependent on tools for working and institutions began to get involved (at the
discussing remotely, such as Zoom, end of March, Groupe URD launched
Feedback exercise (‘‘Timeline’’) © Groupe URD
5 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22
its COVID-19 Observatory, as did development donors, agreed to allow
CERAH in Geneva, ALNAP launched its programmes to be adapted both in
COVID-19 Portal, etc.). terms of content (responding to the
different facets of the COVID-19 crisis)
From mid-March, due to the new and methods (working from home,
working conditions, the reinforcement remote monitoring, localisation). In
of operational continuity plans became certain cases, organisations established
a priority for humanitarian actors: forms of mutual support, pooling their
decisions had to be made about competencies.
adapting human resources, staff
repatriation, sending relay staff, and Based on the experience of Ebola, the
which activities to maintain… Due to competition to find a vaccine began
limited supplies, some organisations to heat up. This raised the question of
decided to fund the local production of whether there would be equal access to
masks and to design shock-responsive the vaccines, given the risk that certain
social protection projects. In the majority rich nations might buy them up in
of cases, appropriate protection advance, and Oxfam launched its ‘Free
measures had been established for vaccines for all’ campaign. Another
staff, partners and beneficiaries by issue was the time that was needed
the end of March. In April, most major for vaccines to get through the different
humanitarian donors, as well as health security filters before being
© WHO
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 6
available on the market. At the end of
April, WHO launched the COVID Tools
Accelerator (ACT), an international
3 / S I N C E M A Y 20 2 0
collaboration project that aims to
accelerate the development, production
and equitable sharing of COVID-19 What happened
tests, treatments and vaccines, in order
to fight more effectively against the From 22 May, the epicentre of the
pandemic. pandemic swung between Latin
America and India. Europe was
split between optimism (freedom of
What we learned movement and the return of economic
activity) and the renewed lockdown
This disease-related crisis was clearly of certain regions (notably in Spain).
now a global crisis, and not only a public The number of cases had still not
health crisis. Advocacy related to econo- significantly risen in Africa, even though
mic and social issues increased, as did the situation varied a great deal from
advocacy in favour of a large-scale res- one region to another. The deterioration
ponse. The major international financial of the economic situation was evident in
institutions began to respond by setting many contexts both in the Global South
up specific COVID-19 funds. In terms of and the Global North, and there was a
operational response, a large number huge increase in inequality.
of cash-based emergency food pro-
grammes were launched between the In addition, due to the ‘infodemic’,
end of April and the beginning of May. and ‘infoxication’, it became difficult
to understand how the situation was
It was also at this time that certain thin- evolving. The quantity of rumours
kers began to look ahead to the world and fake news grew with tragic
after the pandemic. The connection consequences: by 15 August, more than
between the risk of pandemics and en- 600 violent incidents against healthcare
vironmental degradation began to be workers/institutions had been recorded
understood better and to be more pre- in 40 countries.
sent in public debates.
Measures implemented and actions
taken
In May, an original initiative, the Euro-
pean Union Humanitarian Air Bridge,
7 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22
was established involving a network In certain difficult or unstable contexts,
of NGOs, the Humanitarian Logistics alternatives to locking down were ex-
Network and two donors (DG ECHO plored (e.g. by ACF in DRC and Leba-
and the CDCS). Within a few weeks, non). Having been in place for a num-
this initiative helped to fly over 1000 ber of months, international directives
people into field contexts. Between began to evolve on a number of levels
May and August, it allowed 785 000 (masks, case identification, cash assis-
tonnes of equipment to be transported. tance, etc.). On 3 June, a UN briefing
While staff were gradually returning regarding access to the MEDEVAC
to their offices, both at headquarters mechanism was sent to NGO staff.
(the ICRC’s ‘Back to office’ plan was
implemented in August) and in the In August, the first results of studies on
field, widespread fatigue was appa- the treatment of COVID-19 were publi-
rent at all levels within organisations. shed, leading to debate and controver-
The cancelling of international events sy, particularly regarding chloroquine:
involving NGOs (Global Cluster, etc.) only corticoids were recognised as
and their replacement by video-confe- being effective. Serious cases began to
rences continued to have an impact be treated more effectively in countries
on the system. Lockdowns not only with well-equipped health facilities,
affected activities but also contributed reducing the amount of time patients
exhaustion among staff, bringing psy- spent in hospital and thus reducing the
chosocial risks: this fatigue had to be pressure on emergency services.
managed, and measures were taken
to increase staff resilience and provide More and more attention was given to
those in need with psychological sup- the issue of vaccination following the
port… This situation led to the need to GAVI Vaccine Alliance’s call to establish
find replacement staff, and to plan for a vaccination fund. There was ferocious
time off and the financial difficulties competition between the major phar-
this would bring: all of which were ex- maceutical laboratories, despite the
pensive measures that were not fun- official messages about international
ded by donors. In France, Coordination collaboration.
Sud’s efforts to raise awareness of
the structural impacts of the crisis on One concern was the effect that the
NGOs in 2021 highlighted that organi- COVID-19 crisis would have on deve-
sations had used up all their own funds lopment budgets, a concern heightened
due to the cancellation of fund-raising by the announcement of cuts to the
events and new expenses linked to the UK aid budget. Oxfam subsequently
pandemic. launched its campaign calling for mul-
tinationals who have made significant
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 8profits during the crisis to redistribute And lastly, many aid organisations
their wealth. began to see the need to integrate
COVID-19 and the emergence of pro-
bable health crises into their ‘normal’
What we learned way of functioning in the field and at
headquarters.
On a strategic level, taking lessons
from previous health crises into ac-
count proved crucial in numerous
contexts. In contrast, when these were François Grünewald
overlooked, the situation became dif-
ficult to manage. The results of stu- Director of Strategic Foresight
dies on the social impact of COVID-19 Groupe URD
(economy, gender, exile, etc.) began to
be published, with inequalities increa-
singly evident, once again raising the
crucial question of social protection.
COVID-19 Dashboard by CSSE © Johns Hopkins University
9 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22COVID-19: Overcoming control measures that, until recent-
controversies and ly, were limited to dictatorships and
achieving a more countries at war, the exasperation
of the public and the politicisation of
predictive form of crisis such measures is understandable.
management
C
by Jean-Luc Poncelet ONTROVERSIES OF
DIFFERENT KINDS
This article is based on the research carried out by
Groupe URD’s COVID-19 Observatory1 and the Before discussing specific actions
conclusions of the Autumn School on Humanitarian that would allow the response to
Aid. It aims to identify some of the main factors that
be managed in a more organised
are prolonging the crisis and its negative effects all
manner, it might be useful to ana-
over the world, given that the objective is not to stop
the pandemic but to control it more, and to move lyse how a myriad of controversies
from crisis management to predictive management. has prevented a consensual ac-
tion plan from being established.
We have been confronted with an
Twelve months after the start of the CO- unprecedented ‘infodemic’. This term,
VID-19 epidemic2, with hundreds of mil- which combines ‘information’ and ‘epi-
lions of people locked down and billions demic’, describes the widespread pro-
of dollars invested in the response3 4, pagation of both accurate and inac-
we may have hoped that the end of the curate information about a topic, for
crisis would be in sight, at least in the example a disease. As facts, rumours
Global North, with its apparent advan- and fears get mixed up and spread, it
tages in terms of financial and mate- becomes difficult to obtain only reliable
rial resources. However, the number of information about a problem. There
countries that have currently reimposed have been five main types of controver-
lockdowns would appear to indicate the sy connected to COVID-19:
opposite. COVID-19 is still on the front
pages every day, controversies continue 1. A first group of controversies are
to rage on social networks and in the linked to information that is false from
media, and the decisions made by the the start. Errors, lies and fraud, whether
majority of governments are continually institutional or not, are widespread and
changing. A major disaster for many… existed well before COVID-19. Control
Faced with such general confusion, and measures exist to protect ourselves
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 10from these. However, the desire to know false information is all the more toxic as
everything immediately about this new the algorithms used by social networks
virus, which is made worse by our hy- mean that their users are principally
per-connectivity, combined with inte- exposed to information that confirms
rests of all kinds, has countered several their pre-existing beliefs, thus reinfor-
of these procedures, either voluntarily cing their convictions, even for the most
(through misinformation5), or by acci- implausible ideas. Laudable efforts
dent, in the form of misinformation. This to counter this do exist, such as fact-
has even affected some of the most checking websites and software that
respected bastions of technical infor- classify sources based on their quali-
mation. For example, reputed scientific ties, or corrective institutional8 or legal9
journals have found themselves having measures, but their impact remains very
to withdraw articles about controversial limited.
subjects like hydroxychloroquine, des-
pite their review procedures6. A similar 2. A second group of controversies
case of information that, on the face come from accurate information that
of it, was highly credible, came from a is taken out of context. In this case, the
Nobel Prize winner known for his work scientific data is cherry-picked to sup-
on AIDS: he claimed, without sufficient port interpretations that the public - who
evidence, that COVID-19 had been fa- are desperately hoping to find ‘THE’
bricated in a laboratory, which of course solution to this deadly virus – want to
encouraged conspiracy theories7. This hear. An example of this approach is the
much-discussed documentary ‘Hold-
“
up’, a collection of untruths which has
become viral via social networks. Seve-
ral newspapers, including Le Monde10,
rapidly refuted its claim of a conspiracy
‘Infodemic’: this term, behind the pandemic, but the damage
which combines has already been done and it takes a
long time for the fact-checking to make
‘information’ and
an impact. It is therefore important to
‘epidemic’, describes the take action before misinformation ap-
widespread propagation pears. This, for example, was what
happened regarding the idea that a
of both accurate and
vaccination would allow us to get the
inaccurate information pandemic rapidly under control. Very
about a topic, for example different sources, such as international
bodies, virologists, private foundations
a disease.
who are funding the vaccinations and
” 11 humanitarian aid on the move / N 22Sheffield, England © Tim Dennell
pharmaceutical companies all explained 3. Controversies related to psychosocio-
that it was impossible to obtain a vac- logy. Many people who are presented
cination immediately due to the com- with different sources of information
plexity of the production, distribution will prefer the promises of a healer than
and administration processes. For now, statements based on established facts.
despite the brouhaha, this has gene- In Afghanistan, for example, the au-
rally been accepted. This will probably thorities had a great deal of difficulty
change when the competition between in convincing the population that there
pharmaceutical companies, on the one still was no direct treatment for the virus
hand, and producer countries, on the and that the miracle cure being sold by
other, becomes too fierce to be limited to a so-called healer was a fraud. The la-
editorials. Ensuring that scientific discus- boratory confirmed that the concoction
sions are accurate outside their scientific contained opium, papaverine, codeine,
context requires long-term action, as morphine and herbs11. What is more,
does educating the public to be critical- these reactions lead to an even greater
ly minded, and teaching journalists and challenge when they are exploited by
scientists to be skilled in communication. interest groups. Of course, there have
been proposals made to detect and
N 22 / humanitarian aid on the move 12prevent these manipulations but they not have the expertise needed to know
remain voluntary good practice codes. how an epidemic is going to evolve
For example, Google, Facebook, Twit- over time. Taken individually, these sec-
ter, and more recently TikTok, signed the tor-based recommendations frequent-
first set of self-regulatory norms in the ly appear contradictory because they
world to fight against disinformation12. have different objectives. The public
therefore should be informed about the
4. Differences of opinion that come key points of these discussions and why
from the distribution of sector-based they are being carried out in relation to
responsibilities. The public health sec- the specific impact of the proposed re-
tor knows what the relative effective- commendations on each section of so-
ness of the proposed measures is from ciety. The multi-sector composition of
a medical point of view, but does not national COVID-19 commissions should
have the expertise to calculate how they help to overcome this difficulty by trai-
might affect each sector of society. On ning their members more effectively in
the other hand, representatives of trade risk communication because there is
unions and the financial sector are bet- always an element of mutual learning
ter placed, for example, to determine the over time. By keeping the same sector
impact of certain measures on employ- representatives, mutual understanding
ment and stock exchange values, but do gradually grows and allows the group
to concentrate on stable and predictable
control measures.
“ 5. The fifth group of controversies are
the result of a shift in the centre of gravity
of authority. Institutional authority, and
Ensuring that scientific
confidence in systems, even democratic
discussions are accurate systems, are increasingly criticised. As a
outside their scientific result, individuals feel that they can de-
cide for themselves, going as far as to
context requires long-
believe that they are stronger than the
term action, as does virus and refusing to change their beha-
educating the public to viour in order to protect others. This self-
centred attitude can be seen very clear-
be critically minded, and
ly in countries like Brazil and the United
teaching journalists and States, who are still unable to establish
scientists to be skilled in a national policy. What is more, no glo-
bal mechanism has received the neces-
communication.
sary endorsement to establish interna-
” 13 humanitarian aid on the move / N 22tional strategies. The United Nations rapidly available, accurate informa-
Security Council, the G20, the G7 and tion, without compromising individual
other major institutions were activated freedoms, and also how difficult it is to
at a very late stage and have not made channel collective energy towards the
any significant decisions in this respect. effective management of the crisis. A
Certain criticisms of the WHO may well global problem requires a global solu-
be justified, but trying to undermine a tion and significant funding. Though
neutral and global structure of this kind COVID-19 is a huge problem, solutions
without proposing any alternative has do already exist, but are incomplete. It
maintained the pandemic at catastro- is fundamental therefore to evaluate
phic levels. Only a global agreement the reasons for this infodemic and to
will allow us to defeat this disease, or at establish the basic principles of a glo-
least allow us to live with it, as it is a di- bal mechanism to prevent and treat it.
sease that can affect anyone and which
is transmitted due to contact between
H
OW CAN THIS CRISIS BE
individuals. If not for this pandemic, then
MANAGED MORE EFFECTIVELY?
for another one.
The many different sources of contra- Until the infodemic returns to more ac-
dictory and conflicting information ceptable levels, which will take some
that exist show how difficult it is to time, there are already a number of
ensure that everyone has access to ways to manage the COVID-19 crisis
more effectively, as its social and econo-
mic side-effects are currently becoming
“ worse than the direct impact of the virus.
We feel that the main objective should
be to make the way it is managed more
Until the infodemic predictable. Three principal aspects are
essential to achieve this:
returns to more
acceptable levels, 1. Empathy. An empathetic approach
by the authorities has been an essential
which will take some factor in controlling the transmission of
time, there are already the virus in democratic countries. Such
an approach needs to be based on au-
a number of ways to thenticity, which helps to build trust. But
manage the COVID-19 trust was eroded – particularly in demo-
cracies – because people thought that
crisis more effectively.
”
the measures implemented by the au-
N 22 / humanitarian aid on the move 14thorities would quickly allow them to get in detail for months, are all effective in
back to a certain form of normality. It is their way, but if they are not applied to-
true that the speed with which the scien- gether, the door is open to an increase
tific community has acquired knowledge in cases, as we saw at the end of 2020.
about this new virus is unprecedented. The good news is that the opposite is
But as impressive as this may be, our also true. With current knowledge and
knowledge is still too incomplete, even existing tools, several countries with
today, to allow us to really return to nor- very different political and adminis-
mality. To avoid misunderstandings and trative systems have shown that it is
false hopes, scientists, journalists and possible to control this second wave by
politicians should systematically begin combining four main measures13, which
their public interventions with a remin- can be summarised as follows:
der about the degree of uncertainty
when decisions are being made. Such a) limiting the importation of the virus.
humility would also help to avoid ending A control measure applied on its own
measures too soon before all the neces- has never prevented a virus from being
sary checks have been made to ensure imported. However, this measure has
that the ‘new normal’ is in place. For the proven to be very useful if others are
majority of people, over and above the adopted at the same time. For islands,
different sacrifices related to lockdowns, even large ones like Taiwan and New
it is the apparent incoherence of the in- Zealand, it appears to have been a very
formation coming from the many diffe- important success factor. The bounda-
rent sources that is difficult to bear. ries involved can be those of a country,
Being transparent about what the level a city or even a university campus.
of certainty and uncertainty behind the
different decisions being made would b) limiting the number of contacts.
help people – those of goodwill, at least Given that this virus will only be partial-
- to adhere to these choices that have an ly stopped by the first barrier, a second
effect on all of our lives. barrier needs to be raised by reducing
the possibility that a non-infected per-
2. A combined approach. No epide- son will find themselves somewhere
mic can be stopped by a single protec- where there is a high risk of transmis-
tion measure, in the same way that buil- sion of the virus. To do this, any event
ding retention walls on only three sides where there is a high risk of transmis-
of a field will never protect it from floo- sion should be banned and individuals
ding. A disease will continue to be trans- must only be in contact with the same,
mitted for as long as there continues limited number of people, commonly
to be a gap in the defences. Protection referred to as a ‘social bubble’. Though
measures, which have been discussed this has not yet been explained scien-
15 humanitarian aid on the move / N 22Trustworthy sources according to generations © Visualcapitalist.com
tifically, it appears that only 10 to 20% minutes, wearing a mask, staying out-
of infected people are responsible for side as much as possible, ventilating
80 to 90% of transmissions. rooms, etc. The majority of this beha-
viour is acceptable if it is promoted as
c) reducing contagiousness when a means of prevention rather than in-
people meet. Unfortunately, the two dividual protection. The psychological
first barriers only partially reduce the trauma of successive authorisations
risk of transmission. Given the large and bans is much greater than main-
number of people who are asympto- taining a reasonable preventive mea-
matic, we have to limit the possibility of sure in the medium term. The example
infecting or being infected by avoiding of car seat belts illustrates this situa-
transmission via respiratory droplets: tion perfectly as, nowadays, everyone
avoiding speaking loudly, shouting, re- wears them, even when they are dri-
ducing time of contact to less than ten ving at 30 km/h to the nearest shop.
N 22 / humanitarian aid on the move 16d) if a person has the virus, their there is little global or national coordi-
contacts should be traced, tested and nation (for example, local governments,
quarantined. This is the measure that community-based organisations, uni-
is currently missing the most often, versity campuses and businesses).
particularly in democracies. Allowing a
few people to infect others places the
C
ONCLUSIONS
whole system in jeopardy and makes
a mockery of all those who have made
sacrifices to respect all the other mea-
sures. By showing people the mecha- During this COVID-19 pandemic, an
nisms that can protect an individual’s infodemic has proven to be the most
identity, this essential measure can be serious barrier to effectively managing
applied. Many countries, including the the response. Pointless discussions
most transparent societies, have not yet and controversies have distracted, and
established independent mechanisms continue to distract, both the population
that are acceptable to those who cam- and those involved in the response from
paign to protect our privacy. the right behaviour and decisions.
3. Engaging with the institutions: Lockdown is an extreme measure of last
resort that can only be justified to allow
a. Multi-sector committees should governments to establish an organised
make recommendations decided by response that everyone is aware of.
consensus to promote measures to be And yet, this is still not the case, even in
applied by the population as a whole in countries that do not lack economic and
the medium and long term, while res- scientific resources.
pecting the four main control measures;
As several countries have shown, a
b. At the global level, a multi-sector ‘combo’ approach – which consists of
system should be established as quickly simultaneously applying four main, in-
as possible. WHO, as well as econo- terdependent measures – can help to
mic, social and development institutions get the pandemic under control. Ne-
should be involved to make sure that gotiations regarding these measures
transmission rates are rapidly reduced, should be as stable as possible, and the
while preserving economic growth. measures should only be relaxed when
it is certain that the situation will not re-
c. The same coordination principles turn to a state of crisis.
and integrated, multi-sector vision have
helped to protect local communities, Though the new vaccines against
both rich and poor, in countries where COVID-19 might provide greater immu-
17 humanitarian aid on the move / N 22nity than vaccines that have been pro- economy sufficiently, despite the efforts
duced for other viruses, they are still of those who respect preventive mea-
only one more measure to be added sures, and the billions of dollars invested.
to the list of preventive measures. It While we wait for national and interna-
is unrealistic to think that the arrival tional mechanisms to be consolidated,
of vaccines will remove the need to we should begin with local aspects that
establish genuine global coordination, are less complex to put in place. The
whether for the current pandemic or for pandemic is the responsibility of each
those to come. There is an urgent need and every one of us.
to avoid repeating the errors of the past
and to ensure that global coordination Jean-Luc Poncelet
establishes prevention plans for future
threats. Disaster prevention and management
advisor, public health specialist
For the time being, the measures that
have been adopted are not saving
enough lives and are not protecting the
1 - https://www.urd.org/fr/projet/observatoire-covid-19/
2 - The first formal notification of cases of pnumonia in Wuhan were made at the end of December 2019,
and the pandemic was officially declared by the WHO on 11 March 2020.
3 - https://blogs.imf.org/2020/05/20/tracking-the-9-trillion-global-fiscal-support-to-fight-covid-19/
4 - https://www.covidmoneytracker.org/
5 - According to UNESCO, disinformation about COVID-19 creates confusion in relation to medical
science which has an immediate impact on each person in the world and on all societies. As such, it
is more toxic and more deadly than disinformation related to other subjects. This is why we use the
term ‘disinfodemic’. (https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/disinfodemic_deciphering_covid19_
disinformation_fr.pdf).
6 - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31324-6/fulltext
7 - https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/luc-montagnier-coronavirus-wuhan-lab-pseudoscience/
8 - https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-11-19/how-defeat-disinformation
9 - https://scroll.in/article/929863/countries-around-the-world-are-criminalising-fake-news-why-is-
that-bad-news
10 - https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2020/11/12/covid-19-les-contre-verites-de-hold-up-
le-documentaire-a-succes-qui-pretend-devoiler-la-face-cachee-de-l-epidemie_6059526_4355770.
html
11 - https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/9/3/the-afghan-herbalist-who-claims-to-have-a-cure-
for-covid-19
12 - https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/tackling-online-disinformation
13 - https://tomaspueyo.medium.com/coronavirus-the-swiss-cheese-strategy-d6332b5939de
N 22 / humanitarian aid on the move 18Infographic about COVID-19 Social Media Listening © WHO
19 humanitarian aid on the move / N 22interview began to establish our own network
with Marie Cougoureux with associations and collectives as we
all got to know each other. The fact that
we were new meant that we weren’t
Marie Cougoureux is Head stigmatised or associated with anything.
of Department of the Despite the ‘weakness’ of our position,
‘Halte humanitaire’ in Paris with funding from the City Council, and
for Fondation de l’Armée even though, like everyone else, we
Du Salut. She has worked struggled on the ground, we managed to
for several international aid prove our worth. We eventually gained
organisations in a variety legitimacy and ‘Utopia 56’, for example,
of countries, including DRC began to broadcast information about
and Lebanon.
the breakfasts. Things gradually fell into
place.
First of all, can you tell us about the In April 2019, the situation became
Halte Humanitaire (humanitarian more tense: there were more and more
drop-in centre) and how it came to be? people in the street, and camps were
getting bigger. There was growing
Marie Cougoureux: In June 2018, Paris discontent within the associations.
City Council contacted the Fondation Staff were asking to exercise their right
de l’Armée Du Salut (Salvation Army to withdraw and threatened to go on
Foundation) about the possibility of strike. Faced with this rebellion, the
distributing breakfasts in the Chapelle City Council came to see us and told
neighbourhood (18th arrondissement). us about a small piece of land that was
They were interested in working with available at Porte de la Chapelle. This
the Foundation because we had reduced the pressure to some extent,
not been working with migrants for though the activist inter-association
long, compared to more established body refused to implement activities
organisations (e.g., Emmaüs, Aurore…). on City property because it wanted to
We replied that we could provide maintain its independence, and was
logistical support to the grassroots sceptical about the opening of this
collectives who were already drop-in centre. It also criticised the
distributing breakfasts on a daily basis. fact that the location, once again, was
However, because of the funding from close to the Paris ring road. As such, it
the City Council, the collectives did not wouldn’t increase the migrants’ visibility,
want to take part. We therefore had a crucial issue in terms of advocacy. The
to recruit and train our own volunteers Salvation Army Foundation therefore
to carry out the distributions. We then started the project alone.
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 20In May 2019, the drop-in centre opened The activities continued from month
with the aim of providing access to to month until the end of September,
toilets, showers and a launderette for without any visibility, but partnerships
people in camps in the north-east of began to take shape, such as with
Paris (La Chapelle, Saint-Denis and La an association of psychologists (‘Le
Villette). The ‘Halte Humanitaire’ was a chêne et l’hibiscus’), with some artists
day-time drop-in centre with a rest hall for a cultural project, with French
where, for example, the migrants were teachers (‘la Halte’ volunteers), etc.
able to recharge their phones. The hall The drop-in centre was therefore
was also made available to associations useful both for migrants living in the
who work outside (so that they were streets, and for voluntary workers,
not limited to providing assistance in the as it provided a space for dialogue
street), such as the nurses of the ‘Samu between associations. With these two
social’ and ‘Ego’, and the social workers of objectives in mind, the monthly steering
‘France Terre d’Asile’, who help migrants committee was opened up to other
with their rights. It was easier to start organisations (‘Médecins du Monde’
the project with these associations as and ‘Utopia 56’). This allowed the more
they are funded by the state and/or the active fringe of the inter-association
City. Later on, the hall was also used for body, who were not involved in the
meetings between doctors, such as the drop-in centre, to ‘come and see’ and
City of Paris Medical Social Workers, the to talk with the different organisations
‘Samu Social’ doctors, and volunteers involved, such as the Paris and Saint-
from the ‘Association Médicale Adventiste Denis City Councils. The key issue was
de Langue Française’ (AMALF). the transparency of this very political
centre (particularly due to its promotion
“
by Paris City Council). The opening up
of the steering committee was therefore
quite innovative, even though it did lead
to some tension.
The drop-in centre was
therefore useful both for
What was the context when the
migrants living in the lockdown was decided? What
streets, and for voluntary problems did this create?
workers, as it provided a M. C. : On the first day of lockdown,
space for dialogue between people in the camps suddenly found
themselves in a state of complete food
associations.
”
insecurity. They were not allowed to
21 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22interview with Marie Cougoureux
leave the camps, and no longer had Here at the Foundation, we worked
access to anything. The government with ‘Chorba’ on a food aid programme,
clearly forgot about the needs of all the adding our trucks to the humanitarian
people in the street. Instead, they sent deployment. New grassroots
the police to surround the camps and collectives were set up and we quickly
prevent people from moving, despite needed to know who was still active
the fact that they were in danger and operating among the different
because they did not have access to organisations (collectives, associations,
water, or hygiene, etc. And, of course, NGOs, etc.). Rapidly, new partnerships
there was violence in the camps, and were established and we began to
the state did nothing to protect people. work differently. The inter-association
In short, it was very like a humanitarian dynamic became much stronger and
context. At the same time, associations everyone began doing work that
were suddenly no longer present (many they weren’t used to doing. Staff from
volunteers, particularly those who were other associations who had stopped
elderly, no longer came to help). And the operating joined us as volunteers. This
administrative and operational public all happened very quickly and we had
services that migrants have a right to, to adapt in the heat of the moment.
and that allow them to obtain papers It was ‘cobbled together’ - intuitive,
to stay in the country legally, were no organic and horizontal. There was a real
longer available. It was all blocked. So, synergy between all the people who
then there was a proper deployment were available, both at headquarters
of international humanitarian NGOs, and on the ground.
such as Médecins du Monde, to provide
access to water. Their technical know- The drop-in centre subsequently stayed
how was clearly an advantage. open and became a reference centre for
medical issues (with a limited capacity
of up to 100 people maximum on the
“
site). Paris City Council supplied the
medicine for the AMALF volunteers.
The Samu social, Médecins sans
We are clearly dealing frontiers and others were deployed on
other structures. There was a sudden
with humanitarian explosion in food distribution: from one
issues, like access to day to the next, 3000 meals began to
be distributed every day.
water, hygiene, food,
rights, etc.
N 22 / humanitarian
”
Aid on the move 22in Saint-Denis, particularly on the part
How did the second lockdown go? of the militant collectives. The problem
comes from people who do not have
M. C. : Initially, limited medical access to the ‘system’. Because, when
consultations were able to take place. you are in the system, or at least when
Then later, we were able to open you observe events from the inside, your
normally. Our activities received a lot understanding is much more nuanced
of attention in the media. The partners and you are aware of the complexity
involved were the same as during the of the issues at stake. There therefore
first lockdown: MSF, the City of Paris needs to be more dialogue between
Mobile Health Team, AMALF and Samu actors and better communication with
Social. We also established a service those who are outside.
to refer migrants for psychological
assistance.
Do you feel as if you are delivering
‘humanitarian aid’, in the normal
What are the main issues at stake sense of the term, that is, as if you
today? were in another country?
M. C. : Today, the aim is to ensure M. C. : Yes, we are clearly dealing with
that our activities are integrated into humanitarian issues, like access to
common law and are no longer used to water, hygiene, food, rights, etc. This
substitute for state action (or, at least, as was all new to the Foundation. I was
little as possible). For example, there are seen as the humanitarian expert who
currently 17 washing facilities available knew how to do everything, even
in Paris. Yet, our assessments show that though I’d never done any genuine
they are not at all saturated. To improve relief work. Before, I worked for MSF
the connection with common law, we on a multi-year, community-level HIV
have to put in place mobile mediation programme in DRC. Still, my experience
teams, provide physical support, reassured both the associations and
distribute metro tickets, etc. Paris City Council. People were happy
about my humanitarian credentials
We also have to counter mistrust and because we had to launch a distribution
misconceptions, the objective clearly in an extremely insecure context.
being that people speak to each
other much more. There are a lot of
‘conspiracy’ theories at the moment
around the camps, particularly after
evacuations that go badly, like the one
23 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22interview with Marie Cougoureux
It is such and such a person, whether
What is the added value of the Parisian or French, who knows the
humanitarian organisations who context well. If it was someone from
work with you? Germany who turned up and it took
me five months to explain the situation,
M. C. : It mainly has to do with and they then left after six months,
the support they bring to project
development and studies to improve
knowledge about beneficiaries. The
partnership with Action contre la Faim
(ACF) is in keeping with this idea of
“ This not this
complementarity. ACF allows us to humanitarian organisation
analyse practices through in-depth
or another one that I
studies that help us to understand who
the beneficiaries really are. Because, trust. It is such and such a
nowadays, if you ask an association to
person, whether Parisian
distribute food, they’ll only have the time
and resources to execute the task. They or French, who knows the
come and then they leave. They only
context well.
do what the politicians, who use them
”
to manage the crisis, ask them to do.
Whereas I need to understand, which is
not what is expected from associations.
So, currently, ACF really helps us in I would have stopped working with
terms of project development. And you humanitarians a long time ago. Here,
can’t ask volunteers to do that. The City it is different. Everyone is an activist in
should do it but they don’t, or they don’t their own way. To some extent, it is like
share it with us. ACF helps us to take a going back to the original humanitarian
step back from simply doing what the engagement.
state asks us to do. But it is not ACF as
a humanitarian organisation that I trust.
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 24Food delivery © Fondation de l’Armée du Salut 25 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22
How the pandemic cessary’2. However, apart from a
questions humanitarian aid few exceptions, the declarations
of the major donors did not ne-
by Cécile Aptel
cessarily lead to any genuine im-
pact. That was before the pan-
In early 2020, facing the COVID-19 pandemic,
demic redistributed the cards in
almost every country quickly took refuge in their
2020, resolutely giving a central
sovereignty, closing their borders and restricting
their population’s freedom of movement, in the vain role to local organisations.
hope of halting the spread of the virus. It clearly
was not stopped, but other entities were. The ‘sans The first countries to be affected
frontières’ organisations, humanitarian agencies by COVID-19 were China, Iran
and NGOs saw their international operations and Italy. None of these coun-
significantly reduced1. tries is fertile ground for inter-
national humanitarian organisa-
At the end of 2020, it is undeniable that the pandemic tions; China and Iran, for whom
has had a negative impact on the humanitarian the principle of sovereignty is
aid sector. I would like to highlight two particular
key, generally do not allow hu-
challenges this sector now faces: the ‘localisation’
manitarian organisations, in-
of humanitarian aid and the sustainability of its
funding. I will conclude with the urgent need for cluding UN agencies, onto their
humanitarian actors to tackle simultaneously territory3. These three countries
another major challenge of our times: the climatic prioritized their own resources
and environmental crises. and organisations, such as their
respective National Societies of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent,
while foreign organisations were
T
HE ‘LOCALISATION’ OF HU- mostly unable to provide assistance
MANITARIAN AID as they did not have access4.
Having been underway for several As the virus spread, the majority of
decades, the ‘localisation’ of humani- countries quickly closed their borders,
tarian aid moved to the next level in drastically reducing people’s mobi-
2016, when it was established as a lity, including that of humanitarian
priority area of reform for the sector experts who usually carry out ‘inter-
at the World Humanitarian Summit national missions’. Despite the glo-
in Istanbul. Aid was to be ‘as local bal need for humanitarian programs,
as possible, as international as ne- skills and expertise, particularly in the
N 22 / humanitarian Aid on the move 26medical field, the closure of borders NGOs found themselves blocked, lo-
and the abrupt interruption of inter- cal organisations – particularly those
national travel challenged the very who were already well established
ethos of the ‘sans frontières’ move- – were often granted recognition as
ment, which had begun in the 1970s5. essential services, being spared the
As it became impossible for people travel restrictions that affected their
to travel and with a global shortage international counterparts.
of the most important supplies, such
as protective equipment (including So, has this unprecedented pande-
masks), everyone was asked to do mic sounded the death knell for inter-
their best, wherever they were, and national humanitarian aid? Probably
with whatever means were at hand. not – thankfully. But it has no doubt
While numerous ‘sans frontières’ given additional momentum to the
growing call for localisation of aid, as
formalised in Istanbul, which argues
“ the many benefits offered by local
organisations in the humanitarian
domain.
During this pandemic, local
In the majority of crises, such as di-
humanitarian actors have sasters and mass population displa-
definitely gained momentum. cements, the initial hours are crucial.
The usually faster response of local
It is highly probable that organisations, already present on the
this will continue, not field even before the problems begin,
is therefore critical6. ‘Local’ humani-
only because it reflects tarians understand from the inside
the general shift towards the culture in which they are opera-
ting. They are familiar with local lan-
national sovereignty, but guages and dialects, the situation on
also because the often the ground, and the genuine needs of
the population. These all make them
lower financial cost of local particularly effective and eliminate
humanitarian organisations numerous costs (related to interna-
tional travel, translation, etc.), thus
gives them a comparative allowing more resources to be allo-
advantage that is likely to cated to providing assistance and
saving lives. Today, the highest le-
persist.
”
vels of expertise, such as emergency
27 humanitarian Aid on the move / N 22You can also read
