Devex: DFID goes quiet on COVID-19 response
“The U.K.’s international response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been criticized by insiders as ‘disappointing’ and poorly communicated. … With the pandemic continuing to gather pace, concerns are rising about the potential impact in low-income countries. The U.K. on March 6 announced a £46 million ($60 million) aid package to support vaccine and diagnostics development, and it was praised for supporting a rapid test to be produced in Senegal. It later said it would commit up to £150 million for the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to help lower-income countries deal with the economic fallout of the crisis. However, despite holding the world’s third-largest aid budget and a force of aid workers around the world, there has been no further word on plans for the U.K.’s international response…” (Worley, 3/26).