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COVID-19 Resources Relating to Accountability and Inclusion

Image
A photo of a lady in the middle of the field, keeping social distance, yet managing to carry her food (on top of her head and on the right hand holding a cane with water) as he is walking with crutches. Long distance some people walking in the field. A tree in a distance and sky covered half in clouds
Source: S. Sudan, OCHA/Jacob Zocherman

Note that the resources below (except for the webinar and events recordings) can also be accessed through the

NEW ACCOUNTABILITY AND INCLUSION PORTAL. 

The resources below have been gathered to improve the accountability and inclusivity of the humanitarian response(s) to the COVID-19 outbreak that encourage active participation of all affected people, regardless of their gender, age, disability and other diversities; adapt to their feedback; encourage, listen to and act on their complaints, without fear of exploitation or abuse by any aid worker and provide information that enables affected people to make informed decisions about their own lives.

For general information on the COVID-19 outbreak please refer to the websites of WHO: COVID-19; IASC: COVID-19 outbreak readiness and response and ALNAP: COVID-19 response portal. 

New resources are welcomed to complement the list below. We acknowledge contributions of many individuals and organisations to keep this page up to date with the latest publications.

Scroll down for resources on the following: 

  • ACCOUNTABILITY TO AFFECTED POPULATIONS (Risk Communication & Community Engagement - Information Sharing - Feedback mechanisms - Participation - Localization)

  • PSEA and SH

  • PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (including information materials in accessible formats and sign languages for persons with disabilities)

  • GENDER and AGE (Gender - Age: older persons - youth and adolescents - children)

  • MENTAL HEALTH and PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT

  • PEOPLE ON THE MOVE as well as INTERSECTIONAL RESOURCES are to be found in the column to the right. 

NOTE: The mention of "NEW!" refers only to the addition of further resources on this web page and not necessarily to newly issued publications.  

 

ACCOUNTABILITY TO AFFECTED POPULATIONS

Risk Communication and Community Engagement

The following guidance has been developed on risk communication and community engagement:

  • A guide to preventing and addressing social stigma associated with COVID-19 (multiple languages), IFRC, UNICEF, WHO
  • Do You Speak COVID-19? The importance of language for effective communication across the response, Translators without Borders
  • Risk Communication and Community Engagement Action Plan Guidance - COVID-19 Preparedness and Response, IFRC, UNICEF, WHO
  • Risk Communication and Community Engagement Global Response Strategy - COVID-19, IFRC, UNICEF, WHO
  • Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) and COVID-19, UNHCR
  • COVID-19: How to include marginalized and vulnerable people in risk communication and community engagement, RCCE Working Group Asia and the Pacific
  • A Guide for Community-Facing Staff, Oxfam
  • Community Engagement During Covid-19 Checklist, Oxfam
  • Community Engagement during Covid-19 13 practical tips, Oxfam
  • Tips for Engaging Communities during COVID-19 in Low-Resource Settings, Remotely and In-Person, GOARN, WHO, UNICEF & IFRC
  • SURVEY (closed 17 July 2020) to assess the impact of Covid-19 on complaints mechanisms: How are you adapting your complaints in times of Covid-19?, CHS Alliance and  the institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University - note: An initial survey round was conducted in May, which is now being continued through follow-up interviews. In parallel, the survey has been re-opened to allow for more data and information from operational actors. The results will be shared back with RG2 in due course and a webinar to discuss the findings will be organized. 

Regional response:

  • New Coronavirus RCCE Strategy - Africa, IFRC
  • How Can Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) include marginalized and vulnerable people in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, in English and Arabic, EMPHNET, IFRC, IOM,WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA
  • Implications of COVID-19 for the Afro-descendant population in Latin America and the Caribbean (Technical brief), UNFPA, April 2020
  • Implications of Covid-19 for indigenous people in Latin America and the Caribbean (Technical brief), UNFPA, April 2020
  • NEW! Report and recording of event “Community-based disaster risk reduction approaches in the context of COVID-19 in Africa”, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for Africa and Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR).
  • NEW! What Communities say about Covid-19 - Community Perception Survey Report in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Pakistan (September 2020), IFRC/OCHA/WHO . The details of the community perceptions by variables are also available on an interactive dashboard. 

Platforms compiling information and communication resources on COVID-19:

  • Community Engagement and COVID-19 resource platform, IFRC and British Red Cross
  • COVID-19 microsite, Internews
  • Resources for those responding to COVID-19, CDAC Network
  • “Science in 5”,  WHO (series in which experts explain science related to COVID-19 in short videos, mostly general and medical issues, but also myth busters, reopening of schools, etc.)

Information Sharing

The resources below can be used for generic key messages on COVID-19:

  • Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters, WHO
  • Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): What parents should know, UNICEF
  • COVID-19 Information resources (English, French, Arabic), WHO Eastern Mediterranean
  • Everything you need to know about washing your hands to protect against coronavirus, UNICEF
  • Glossary for COVID-19 (Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Burmese, Kurmanji, Arabic, Swahili, Kibaku, Waha, Bura Pabir, Mandara), Translators without Borders
  • Infographics, video on misconceptions of COVID-19 (Bangla), BBC Media Action
  • Infographics (Creole), IFRC
  • Les essentiels pour la prévention et le contrôle du virus, BioForce
  • Poster - COVID-19 What do you need to know (15+ languages), International SOS
  • Video - Coronavirus Explained, WHO
  • Video - 6 things parents should know about COVID-19, UNICEF
  • Video - Bảo vệ bạn khỏi vi rút corona bằng tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), SWABO
  • Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19), WHO
  • 7 simple tips on how to talk to kids about the coronavirus, Save the Children
  • See also the resources below for Covid-19 information in accessible formats and sign languages

Guidance and tools on information sharing:

  • Key considerations: online information, mis- and disinformation in the context of COVID-19, Social Science in Humanitarian Action
  • Interactive database - Language diversity in the COVID-19 pandemic, TWB
  • COVID-19 West and Central Africa - Tools for Community Engagement Regional Working Group for Risk Communication and Community Engagement to Fight Coronavirus in West and Central Africa
  • Guide on local media and community engagement in humanitarian settings, an approach to ensure community engagement activities in times of social distancing (and beyond), Internews

Assessments:

  • Trends in Communication Preferences and Modalities in South Sudan, REACH
  • COVID-19 perceptions data from community leaders in Uganda, Ground Truth Solutions
  • “Data collected from crisis-affected communities to support more accountable and inclusive humanitarian response to COVID-19”, REACH
  • NEW! SUARA KOMUNITAS (The Community's Perception of Covid 19 ),a compilation and analysis of 28 perception surveys from various agencies, drafted by an inter-agency platform led by the Government of Indonesia (NDMO - BNPB), IFRC/Indonesian Red Cross, OCHA, UNICEF [English/Indonesian versions available] 
  • NEW! Recording of webinar:: Best practices and lessons learned from an inter-agency perception survey in Asia Pacific, WHO (29 October 2020)

Feedback mechanisms

WHO and UNICEF have launched information sharing, complaints and feedback mechanisms through social media and messaging apps:

  • COVID-19 Health Alert on What’s App, WHO
  • U-Report on COVID-19 on What's App, Viber, Facebook Messenger, UNICEF

Rumours tracking

  • Social Media Rumour Bulletin (Asia), Internews and TBW
  • Social Media Rumour Bulletin 2 (Asia), Internews and TBW
  • COVID-19 Rumours in the Camps (Rohingya Response), BBC Media Action and TWB

Generic guidance and tools:

  • Hotline in a Box, IFRC

Participation

The following tools can be used to ensure participation of affected communities in the response:

  • COVID-19 Rapid Assessment Tool, IFRC, UNICEF, WHO

Localization

The following resources are available about Localization:

  • IASC Interim Guidance on Localisation and the COVID-19 Response (developed jointly by IFRC and UNICEF in coordination with IASC Results Group 1- Operational Response Sub-Group on Localisation)
  • Position paper: Localized response to COVID-19 global pandemic, A4EP
  • Covid-19 and localisation: an opportunity for equitable risk-sharing, Blog by Lea Moutard, Humanitarian Policy Network, HPG/ODI


PSEA AND SH

  • Addressing safeguarding and SEAH in the COVID-19 response, CHS Alliance
  • Interim Technical Note - Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse During COVID-19 Response (1.0), WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, IOM, OCHA, CHS Alliance, InterAction, UN Victims’ Rights Advocate
  • The guidance COVID-19: Inclusive Programming – Ensuring Assistance and Protection Addresses the Needs of Marginalized and At-Risk People highlights PSEA and SH aspects, ICRC

 

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

The following guidance has been developed for a disability-inclusive response to COVID-19:

  • UN Policy Brief on disability-inclusive Covid-19 response (in English) - accessible version and version in International sign languages are available here (scroll down to the bottom of the page)
  • Video of the UN Secretary General launching the UN Policy Brief on disability-inclusive Covid-19 response
  • COVID-19 response: Considerations for Children and Adults with Disabilities, UNICEF
  • Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak, WHO
  • Disability inclusive social protection response to covid-19 crisis, UNICEF, ILO and others
  • Guía De Orientaciones Prácticas De Denuncia De La Violencia De Género Sobre Mujeres Y Niñas Con Discapacidad En La Situación De Emergencia Por El Coronavirus, Fundación CERMI Mujeres
  • Guidance Brief: A disability inclusive COVID-19 response in Somalia, Humanity & Inclusion
  • Brief Guidance note - A disability inclusive Covid-19 Response, Syrian Protection Cluster (Turkey)
  • Guidelines on Providing Access to Public Health Information in National Sign Languages during the Coronavirus Pandemic, WASLI
  • Recommendations for Health Protection of People with Disabilities During Outbreaks: Lessons Learned from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, Inclusiva
  • Risk Communication & Community Engagement for COVID-19 - Engaging with Children and Adults with Disabilities, UNICEF 
  • Toward a Disability-Inclusive COVID19 Response: 10 recommendations, International Disability Alliance
  • Disability Considerations in GBV Programming during the COVID-19 Pandemic, GBV AoR
  • 10 Things You Should Know about COVID-19 and Persons with Disabilities (multiple languages), Save the Children
  • Protection, gender and inclusion in the response to COVID-19 – technical guidance note (English-French-Spanish-Arabic-Russian) IFRC
  • COVID-19 and the rights of persons with disabilities: guidance, OHCHR - includes a section on prisoners with disabilities and persons with disabilities without adequate housing
  • Interim Briefing Note Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak, IASC MHPSS Reference Group - contains guidance for persons with disabilities 
  • Using the Washington Group Tools to Assess the Impact of COVID-19 on Persons with Disability, Washington Group on Disability Statistics
  • Accessible remote learning during COVID-19,- Immediate approaches for countries to implement during COVID-19 to create accessible digital content, UNICEF
  • NEW! IASC Key Messages on Applying IASC Guidelines on Disability in the COVID-19 Response
  • NEW! Recording of webinar: Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the COVID-19 Response: Applying the IASC Guidelines, joint ICVA/PHAP/DRG/IASC event, 17 September 2020
  • NEW! COVID-19 Response in Humanitarian Settings: Examples of Good Practices for Including Persons with Disabilities,Inter-Agency Working Group on Disability-Inclusive COVID-19 Response and Recovery (co-led by OCHA and UNICEF)
  • NEW! Tip sheet for monitoring a disability-inclusive response to COVID-19 in humanitarian settings, Developed by the Disability Advisory Group (FCDO-UN SBC) in cooperation with the UNDIS Interagency Working Group on COVID-19 Humanitarian Response and Recovery

Advocacy resources:

  • Resource platform - COVID 19 and the disability movement, International Disability Alliance
  • COVID19 Resource: Key advocacy messages, questions to ask on inclusion and signpost to resources to learn more, CBM
  • Disability Rights CEO writes to Disability and Care Ministers, Disability Rights UK
  • Leaving no one behind during the COVID 19 outbreak, Light for the World
  • Message From Ana Peláez Narváez: Women With Disabilities And Covid-19, European Disability Forum
  • Open Letter to Leaders at the EU and in EU Countries: Covid-19 – Disability Inclusive Response, European Disability Forum
  • Press Release - COVID-19: Who is protecting the people with disabilities?, OHCHR
  • Recommendations for immediate action regarding: the rights & needs of people with disabilities who use personal assistance services & supports throughout covid-19 planning & response, World Institute on Disability
  • The impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities, Bridging the Gap
  • Covid-19 and Disability Inclusion: Humanitarian Settings, DID4all
  • Recording of event "Safeguarding the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during Covid-19", organized by the Permanent Missions of Israel, Hungary, Senegal and Thailand in New York on 19 May 2020
  • Recording of event: "Will SDGs still be relevant after the pandemic for persons with disabilities?" (side event to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2020), Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities 
  • Joint Statement by 138 Member States and observers to welcome the publication of the UN Secretary General on a Disability-sensitive response to Covid-19
  • Joint statement by European Union High Representative Borrell, Vice-President Jourová and Commissioner Dalli on the rights of persons with disabilities (18 May 2020), European Union
  • COVID-19 in humanitarian contexts: no excuses to leave persons with disabilities behind! Evidence from HI's operations in humanitarian settings, Humanity & Inclusion,June 2020
  • Infography with Key messages on COVID-19 and disability, UNFPA
  • Inclusion of persons with disabilities in Covid-19 response and recovery: seven steps to implementing the IASC Guidelines, Blog by Tom Palmer, Humanitarian Policy Network, HPG/ODI
  • "My ears are my eyes" - information piece on support of persons with disabilities in connection with the launch of the GHRP update, OCHA, August 2020

SURVEY (closed on 31 July 2020) on disability rights during the Coronavirus Pandemic: COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor, International Disability Alliance together with partners - available in 22 languages, . A dashboard of responses is also available. 

Information materials for persons with disabilities:

  • COVID-19 Information By and For People with Disabilities, Green Mountain Self Advocates
  • COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines (Easy Read), Chosen Power Hong Kong
  • Easy-to-read information about Coronavirus available in many languages, Inclusion Europe
  • Video - How to properly wash your hands, HSE Ireland
  • Information about the Coronavirus, Mencap
  • Informations sur le coronavirus (French), UNAIPEI34
  • Coronavirus en pictogramas (Spanish), ARASAAC
  • What is the Coronavirus?, The Autism Educator
  • Video - Activité de lavage des mains avec de la peinture, Wash'Em
  • "My Hero is you", Storybook for Children about Covid-19 in Braille-transcript in English, in easy languages as well as in many audio formats 

Information in sign language:

  • Information on COVID-19 in American Sign Language ASL, MN Health
  • Information on COVID-19 in French Sign Language LSF, Signes
  • Information on COVID-19 in French Sign Language (LSFB), Government of Belgium
  • Information on COVID-19 in International Sign Language, Mill Neck
  • Information on COVID-19 in Sign Language – Mozambique,TV Surdo Moçambique
  • Coronaviurs: Information in Sign Language - Mozambique, TV Surdo Moçambique
  • Materials on COVID-19 in New Zeland Sign Language, NZ Ministry of Health
  • Joint Statement on Access to Health Services During the Coronavirus (Covid 19), WFD and WASLI
  • Stay at Home Video in Sign Language, Ghana Association of the Deaf
  • How to explain physical distancing to children - South Sudan PSA, Girls' Education South Sudan

Repositories and compilations of resources : 

  • NEW! UN Covid-19 Response - A Disability- Inclusive Respone Page, United Nations (contains Key UN documents as well as various tools & resources relating to disability inclusion in the humanitarian response, a checklist for disability-inclusive Covid-19 funding; a Checklist for Planning a Disability Inclusive COVID-19 Socio-Economic Response and Recovery as well as Key Messages, etc.)
  • Resource page - COVID-19 and Persons with Disabilities, Disability Rights Fund
  • Repository of resources linked to Covis-19, IDDC
  • Covid-19 Resources and Tools for actions, International Disability Alliance (IDA)
  • Resources linked to COVID-19 response and the rights of persons with disabilities, GLAD Network
  • The UN DESA webpage on the Covid10 outbreak and persons with disabilities contains many useful general resources from UN and non-UN partners, although most are not specific to humanitarian contexts.
  • The United States International Council on Disabilities has compiled guidance, articles and other resources (including in sign languages and local languages) from Africa, the Caribbean Region, the Pacific and many other countries , as well as from the US Government and of the US Civil Society
  • Annotated list of documents linked to Covid-19, DID4all 
  • List of resources to include persons with disabilities in COVID-19 response, Bridging the Gap Project of the European Union
  • NEW! Disability:IN& Covid19 (contains a compilation of resources relating to remote working and return to work of persons with disabilities; digital accessibility and other best practices for remote work; mental health aspects, etc)


GENDER AND AGE

The following guidance has been developed for gender and age considerations in the COVID-19 response:

Gender

  • NEW! The Global Girlhood Report 2020: How COVID-19 is putting progress in peril, Save the Children - executive summaires also available in Arabic, French and Spanish)  
  • COVID-19 and violence against women: What the health sector/system can do (English, French), WHO
  • COVID-19 Contingency Planning: Guidance for GBV Coordination Groups (French, Spanish), GBV AoR
  • Country Guidance Notes on GBV Service Provision during the time of COVID-19, GBV AoR
  • COVID-19 A Gender Lens: Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and Promoting Gender Equality, UNFPA
  • Five actions for Gender Equality in the COVID response, UNICEF
  • GBV Case Management and the COVID-19 Pandemic, GBV AoR
  • Remote GBV Case Management in the COVID-19 response (series of video shorts and podcasts, English -French), GBVIMS Steering Committee  
  • Gender Alert for COVID-19 Outbreak (English, French, Spanish), IASC and UN Women
  • Gender and Data Resources Related to COVID-19, Data2X
  • Global Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID-19, CARE and IRC
  • Guidelines for Mobile and Remote Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Service Delivery, IRC
  • Interim Guidance: Gender Alert for COVID-19 Outbreak, IASC
  • Prevention and Response to sexual and gender-based violence in COVID-19 quarantine  centres, ICRC
  • UN Secretary-General’s policy brief: The impact of COVID-19 on women, UN
  • NEW! Girl-driven change: Adressing the needs of Adolescent Girls during Covid-19 and beyond, CARE (October 2020) 
  • NEW! She Told Us So: Filling the Data Gap to Build Back Equal, CARE (September 2020) - The report, a first of its kind data collection, reveals three major areas in which women are more negatively experiencing COVID-19 than men: unemployment, lack of food, and a toll on their mental health.
  • NEW! Building forward: creating a more equitable, inclusive, gender-just and sustainable world CARE (October 2020) This report examines these inter-connected crises and offers recommendations for decision makers on how to use the recovery from COVID-19 to “build forward” in three sectors: climate change, humanitarian responses, and women’s economic empowerment.
  • NEW! Left out and Left Behind: Ignoring Women will Prevent Us from Solving the Hunger Crisis,CARE. Women and girls are the majority of food producers and food providers for their households, but their contributions are frequently unseen. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are exposing the existing flaws in food systems, as shown by CARE’s  new  analysis  of  73  global  reports  proposing solutions to the hunger pandemic.   

Advocacy resources:

  • COVID-19 and Gender Advocacy Brief, GBV AoR and Gender in Humanitarian Action Asia and Pacific
  • Gender and Covid-19, Advocacy Brief, WHO
  • COVID-19 and violence against women: What the health sector/system can do, WHO
  • COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak, The Lancet
  • Gender & COVID-19: Why Gender Matters, WFP
  • Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Violence against Women and Girls, VAWG Helpdesk Research Report
  • Webinar - Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Girls, GBV AoR
  • Gender Implications of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Development and Humanitarian Settings, CARE
  • The Shadow Pandemic: How the Covid-19 crisis is exacerbating Gender Inequality, UN Foundation
  • Women’s Needs and Gender Equality In Lebanon’s COVID-19 Response, UN Women
  • COVID-19 Outbreak and Gender: Key Advocacy Points from Asia and the Pacific, GBV AoR
  • Impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTIQ+ people, Edge Effect 
  • Guidance on how reporting on and with the LGBTI-community, Internews 

Other resources:

  • Portal on how and why gender matters in COVID-19 response, UN Woman
  • Resource folder – UNDP COVID-19 Gender Offer, UNDP

Age

Advocacy resources and guidance relating to older persons:

  • Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on older persons, The UN
  • Video Message of the UN Secretary General about the impact of Covid-19 on older persons
  • Implications of Covid-19 for older persons: responding to the pandemic,  UNFPA 
  • Protecting older people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian), Help Age
  • COVID-19: Guidance and advice for older people (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian), HelpAge
  • Older Persons at risk but resilient, OCHA exposure piece
  • Checklist for the inclusion of Older Persons in COVID-19 Socio-economic Response Plans (SERPs), UN DESA/OHCHR
  • COVID-19: Battling stigma and discrimination against older persons, UNDRR 
  • Covid-19 guidance, HelpAge - series of guidelines for older people, families, carers and care homes, including: Principles of WASH in response to Covid-19; Psychosocial support for older persons; Covid-19: end of life at home; Key Messages on administering or collecting pensions; Advice for communities and Older People's Associations; etc. The same web page also contains Covid-19 stories from older persons.  
  • COVID-19 Population Vulnerability Dashboard on older persons, UNFPA

See also the UN DESA website for a repository of general policy briefs, reports, technical guidance, news, websites and statements about older persons in the Covid-19 response.

A map and information about projects carried out by 12 HelpAge country offices and 154 like-minded organisations in support of older persons in the COVID-19 response is available here.  

On Youth/adolescents:

  • Resource page - COVID-19: The Compact Response, Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action
  • COVID-19: Working with and for young people (Full Guidance/Summary Guidance), Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action - available in English, Arabic, Bahasa/Indonesian, Bangla,French,Khmer, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish
  • Toolkit to spread awareness and take action on COVID-19, Voices of Youth and UNICEF
  • Webinar - #CopingWithCOVID: A webinar series on young people and mental health, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth
  • Practical Tips on Engaging Adolescents and Youth in the COVID-19 Response, UNICEF 
  • Adolescent Kit for Expression & Innovation: Adapted Resource Package for COVID-19, UNICEF Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP). The Kit provides adolescents aged 10-19 years with a set of activities that can be self-administered to promote their psychosocial wellbeing and learn new skills in times of stress and while staying at home during COVID-19. 
  • NEW! How to take care of yourself during stressful times, Voices of Youth
  • NEW! Girl-driven change: Adressing the needs of Adolescent Girls during Covid-19 and beyond, CARE (October 2020) 

On Children: 

  • A Call for Coordinated Action to Protect and Support all Young Children and their Caregivers, Early Childhood Development Action Network
  • Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on children, UN 
  • Secretary-General's statement on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Children (French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian), UN
  • Key messages - Policy Brief: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Children, IASC
  • Press release - Children at heightened risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence amidst intensifying containment measures, UNICEF
  • Technical Note on the Protection of Children during the Coronavirus Pandemic (8 languages), The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action
  • Interim guidance for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Schools, IASC (IFRC, UNICEF, WHO) 
  • Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition of schoolchildren, FAO, UNICEF and WFP, 
  • Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Its Implications for Protecting Children Online, UNICEF and partners

Please check the UNICEF Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information centre and the Youth Compact page on Technical Guidances and Briefs for the latest COVID-19 news and resources relating to children, adolescents and their family.

Key messages for children

  • Covibook – COVID19 Book for Children, IFRC
  • Hand washing animation video, Save the Children
  • My Hero is You, Storybook for Children on COVID-19 (120+ languages), IASC MHPSS Reference Group - adaptations 
  • Talking about Coronavirus-19 with young children (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese), UNICEF
  • How teachers can talk to children about coronavirus disease, UNICEF
  • Video - 6 things parents should know about COVID-19, UNICEF
  • Tips for parenting during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, UNICEF

MENTAL HEALTH and PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT (MHPSS)

The following guidance and resources have been developed on MHPSS during COVID-19 outbreak:

  • Policy Brief on Covid-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health, UN 
  • Video message of the UN Secretary General on Covid-19 and the need for action of mental health, UN - available with English sub-titles here
  • Interim Briefing Note (1.5) Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak (10+ languages), IASC MHPSS Reference Group        
  • Basic Psychosocial Skills- A Guide for COVID-19 Responders (available in English/Arabic/French/Greek/ Russian/Spanish - more languages are forthcoming), IASC MHPSS Reference Group         
  • Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak (French, Spanish, Arabic), WHO
  • Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Staff, Volunteers, and Communities in an Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus, IFRC
  • EMERGING PRACTICES: mental health and  psychosocial support in refugee operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR
  • MHPSS and Self Care During An Outbreak, Hong Kong Red Cross
  • MHPSS.NET Tool Kit for Covid-19 Response (version 1.0), MHPSS Group
  • Coronavirus and mental health: your wellbeing can be someone else’s survival, Voices of Youth
  • Short animated video about Your mental health and the one of your children, CP AoR and MHPSS Collaborative

Please visit also the webpage of the IASC MHPSS Reference Group for many more useful general resources relating to mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies. 

The Psychosocial Centre of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies offers manuals, articles, information packages and other documents related to the Covid-19 response in English, Bangla, Serbian, French, German, Portugeese, Italian, Bengali and Chinese.  

 

 

RELEVANT IASC INTERIM GUIDANCE

  • NEW! Key Protection Advocacy Messages Covid-19 
  • Interim Briefing Note Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak 
  • Interim Technical Note: Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) during COVID-19 Response - Version 1.0 

  • Interim Guidance: Gender Alert for COVID-19 Outbreak 
  • IASC Interim Guidance on Localisation and the COVID-19 Response 
  • NEW! IASC Key Messages on Applying IASC Guidelines on Disability in the COVID-19 Response 
  • My Hero is You, Storybook for Children on COVID-19 
Image taken from My Hero Is You Storybook

 

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

  • Policy Brief - Covid19 and People on the Move, UN

  • Video Statement of the UN Secretary General: "The COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to reimagine human mobility", Launch of the UN Policy Brief on the impact of Covid-19 on refugees, IDPs and migrants

  • Including migrants and displaced populations in preparedness and response activities to COVID-19, Guidance for Americas National Societies, IFRC
  • Press Release - COVID-19: Do not forget internally displaced persons, UN expert urges Governments worldwide, OHCHR
  • Migrants' contribution to the Covid-19 response, Infography and examples of reforms, new initiatives and campaigns to recognise and better support migrant essential workers in the COVID-19 response, ODI (June 2020)
  • Webinar recording (in Bahasa Indonesia) about Stigmatization of migrants, Internews
  • NEW! Webinar recording: Reducing COVID-19 Vulnerability Amongst Displaced Populations and Migrants, UNDRR

INTER-SECTIONAL RESOURCES

  • NEW! Key Protection Advocacy Messages-Covid-19, IASC
  • NEW! Comprehensive Response to COVID-19: Saving Lives, Protecting Societies, Recovering Better, United Nations
  • NEW! General Assembly Resolution to the COVID-19 pandemic, United Nations
  • Age, Gender and Diversity Considerations: COVID-19, UNHCR
  • Inclusion of older people and people with disabilities, ADCAP
  • How Can Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) include marginalized and vulnerable people in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, in English and Arabic, EMPHNET, IFRC, IOM,WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA
  • COVID-19 and the Core Humanitarian Standard: How to meet our CHS commitments in the coronavirus pandemic, CHS Alliance
  • COVID-19: Inclusive Programming – Ensuring Assistance and Protection Addresses the Needs of Marginalized and At-Risk People, ICRC
  • COVID-19 Protection Advocacy Note - Key messages for engaging with national and local authorities, Global Protection Cluster
  • Disrupting COVID-19 Stigma, Breakthrough ACTION, Johns Hopkins
  • Global COVID-19 Survey dashboard, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
  • The Sphere standards and the Coronavirus response, Sphere
  • Addressing stigma against survivors of Covid-19 and their families in Ghana - case study and video.(English - French), Plan International 
  • Policy Brief - A UN Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19, UN (see chapter II. on "The people we must reach" and the list on page 7 of at-risk populations, experiencing the highest degree of socio-economic marginalization and requiring specific attention)
  • NEW! Checklist for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Socio-Economic Country Responses to COVID-19, OHCHR/UNDP/UN SDG (relates to those most at risk of being left behind - older people are tackled in a separate annex)
Example of ‘easy to read’ communication that can be used for persons with disabilities

Photo of a virus sample (for corona virus) and a group of people listed in the hierarchy. On the right side the text reads, COVID-19 is a new illness. It is caused by the virus called coronavirus. Coronavirus is akind of germ. Germs are sped when people couch and sneeze.

Contacts
Ms. Isabelle de Muyser-Boucher
Humanitarian Affairs Officer
IASC secretariat
Geneva

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