MacArthur Foundation gives BUK, SERAP, CITAD,CDD ,others $900,000 to fight COVID-19

Bayero University Kano has won a grant of $100,000 (N36m) from the MacArthur foundation Nigeria office to expand its testing capacity and to procure personal Protective Equipment for frontline medical workers in Northern Nigeria to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solacebase reports that the grant is out of the over $900,000 (N324M) MacArthur’s Nigeria office is providing to its partners and civil society organizations to support them in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to information on the foundation’s website, the grant approved on July 23, 2020, is tagged Strengthening Civil Society’s Response to COVID-19 in Nigeria

The MacArthur Foundation said the effort is geared towards Nigerian civil society and media organizations that are fighting mis- and dis-information about the COVID-19 pandemic, providing accurate information to the public about the dangers of the virus and how to keep safe.

Also, the support would help in tracking funds allocated for COVID-19 response and recovery, and providing equipment for some of the most vulnerable members of society and frontline workers.

Read Also: Groups train journalists, CSOs on COVID-19 response in Kano(Opens in a new browser tab)

It said Government reformers, civil society, and the media are playing a leading role in Nigeria’s COVID-19 response and will be critical for Nigeria’s recovery.

The United Nations Development Program, (UNDP) got $400,000 (N144M) to enable the UNDP office in Nigeria to purchase supplies for surveillance, prevention, and clinical management of the pandemic in the country’s under-resourced Northern regions.

Others include Centre for Democracy and Development,( CDD) that got $50,000 to expand its fact-checking campaign on COVID-19 to include widely-spoken local languages in Nigeria and Centre for Information Technology and Development, (CITAD) also won $50,000 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Kano through public education and community mobilization.

Also, Legal Defence and Assistance Project was awarded $50,000 to increase access to justice resources for the most vulnerable criminal suspects and inmates during the pandemic in an effort to document human rights violations, while, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, got $50,000 for public education and community mobilization on COVID-19.

Similarly, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, got $50,000 (N18m) to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of COVID-19 funds by the Nigerian government.

Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative, won $50,000 (N18M) to work with a coalition of women’s rights organizations and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to educate the public, advocate basic needs, and protect women and children from abuse during the pandemic.

Also, Network for Health Equity and Development was awarded $49,500 to monitor and support response systems to COVID-19 at the state and federal level and promote awareness among Nigerian citizens, while, Akin Fadeyi Foundation, got  $43,500 to produce Nigerian-language public health education videos and Partners West Africa – Nigeria, was awarded $25,000 to conduct a snapshot study to assess the physical, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic on women in Nigeria.