Devex: The COVID-19 pivot: ‘We don’t all need to become about the pandemic’
“The COVID-19 crisis has forced the neglected tropical disease sector to halt mass drug administrations, which are at odds with social distancing. The END Fund, an initiative that pools investments from donors and directs them to programs to end the most common NTDs, sees clear overlaps between preventing COVID-19 and preventing NTDs, such as the importance of hand-washing. The organization has launched a new fund to support health workers responding to the pandemic while also preserving the gains that have been made in ending NTDs. … A range of nonprofits, including those that do not typically respond to pandemics, are pivoting their programming as a result of COVID-19. … But there is a risk of organizations diverting time and resources from critical programming that addresses some of the very problems the pandemic has made visible. Nonprofits and donors alike are asking themselves how much they should pivot in response to the current crisis…” (Cheney, 6/9).