The COVID-19 Response Fund

Our Response to COVID-19

In April, the World Health Organization recommended that most parts of neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs – such as community- and school-based mass drug administrations, training for health care workers, and community-based surveys – be postponed due to COVID-19. While activities are paused, the END Fund has a unique role to play in leveraging our network and resources to continue to help protect the vulnerable communities we serve during these extraordinary times. Our immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic was to engage with every one of our implementing partners and ask what challenges they face, how they plan to respond, and how we can help.

The END Fund's COVID-19 Response Fund

Most of our partners will face urgent needs in the coming months. The communities our partners serve are often highly vulnerable and are therefore likely to be particularly impacted by COVID-19. Through the COVID-19 Response Fund, we will support programs, primarily in Africa, that provide communities and health workers with the direct services they need. Given we are in the midst of a worldwide global handwashing campaign and handwashing is also essential in preventing intestinal worm infections, this presents a natural opportunity for the END Fund to contribute to the response effort.

Are you an organization that would like to make an in-kind donation to help respond to COVID-19? Email [email protected] for more details.

Updates

Small organizations making big impacts in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the DRC

Small organizations making big impacts in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the DRC

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By Sabrina Pascoe, Associate, Programs and Greg Porter, Senior Associate, Communications  United Front Against River Blindness (UFAR) has been treating communities for river blindness in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2006. But now, it has repurposed its sprawling operations to take on the daunting challenge of stopping the spread of COVID-19 in a…

Inventing new ways of working in global health

Inventing new ways of working in global health

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Kimberly Kamara, Associate Vice President of Programs & Claire Chaumont, Director of Program Evidence, Measurement, and Evaluation Coordination is the cornerstone of success in progress made to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The NTD community would not have been as successful as it has in the last decades if it wasn’t for the incredible global…

The END Fund and TLF Align Efforts to Fight COVID-19

The END Fund and TLF Align Efforts to Fight COVID-19

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By James Porter and Maretta Silverman The END Fund works to end the five most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which together affect 1.7 billion people worldwide. A group of parasitic and bacterial diseases, NTDs trap people in the cycle of poverty and amongst children, infection leads to malnutrition, cognitive impairment, stunted growth, and the…

The NALA Foundation’s Work in Ethiopia – The END Fund

The NALA Foundation’s Work in Ethiopia – The END Fund

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By Elyse Greenblatt, Associate, Progams The END Fund’s first grant from the COVID-19 Response Fund was to The NALA Foundation. This was our inaugural project with NALA. They have been working in Ethiopia since 2008 with the goal of eliminating diseases of poverty, specifically those related to limited access to clean water and sanitation. NALA’s…

Community Directed Treatment for NTDs Moving Forward

Community Directed Treatment for NTDs Moving Forward

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By Warren Lancaster, Senior Vice President, Program My second blog in as many weeks – the current world situation makes you think. I have been reflecting not only on the emergency response to COVID-19 as I talked about in my last blog but also about the safe and effective delivery of neglected tropical disease (NTD)…

Tippy Taps Reduce the Spread of COVID-19 in Angola

Tippy Taps Reduce the Spread of COVID-19 in Angola

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By Liya Assefa, Associate, Programs The END Fund has worked in Angola alongside the MENTOR Initiative since 2012, providing technical assistance to the National NTD Program at the Angolan Ministry of Health. Angola had its first suspected cases of COVID-19 in January 2020, with confirmed cases initially identified in late March. Subsequently, a state of…

First Ladies of Africa working to stop the spread of COVID-19

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By Elisa Baring, Senior Director, Public Affairs and Joy Ruwodo, Director, Public Affairs    African First Ladies are organizing to provide coordination and guidance to help lead an effective response to COVID-19 across the continent. First Ladies can offer trusted advice and encouragement – leading by example and communicating clear, comprehensive directives, they can truly…

Helping Where We Can: COVID-19 & The END Fund

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By: Warren Lancaster, Senior Vice President, Programs I am not a natural blogger as evidenced by the time that has passed since my last blog on our site. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it when I do write them as they tend to be fairly reflective. For a person who promotes what is called…

An update on our COVID-19 response

An update on our COVID-19 response

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Dear END Fund Community, It is hard to believe that in just the last four weeks, the world has moved from 160,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases to now over 1.5 million. Each one of us has been touched personally in some way by this global pandemic, and we are far from having clarity on what the…

A Message from the END Fund on COVID-19

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Dear END Fund Community, I hope you, your families, friends, and communities are safe and healthy. These are trying times for all of us, and nothing is more important than the wellbeing of those we hold close. At the END Fund, there are a number of ways COVID-19 is currently impacting us. As supporters of…