The Transforming Surge Capacity project was one of the Start Network DEPP projects. We asked Pamela Combinido, a local consultant tasked with evaluating the programme in the Philippines, about her involvement in the project and its major achievements.
On 28th March 2020, Start Fund Bangladesh, the national fund for the Start Network, activated its first alert in response to predictions made by the national Forecast-based Warning, Analysis and Response Network (FOREWARN).
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, Cameroon has been afflicted with one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases in sub-Saharan African. The Start Network’s Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF) funded one of the first projects in the country to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and work to complement existing responses.
Following high levels of interest from members, Start Network reopened the Start Fund COVID-19 for a second call for alerts on 11 May. Based on learning from the first call for alerts, as well as a country prioritisation exercise, this call was limited to seven identified countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, DRC, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Of these, the Start Fund committee allocated funding to: Burundi, Central African Republic, Somalia and Yemen.
Mental Health Awareness Week in 2020 has taken on a more pressing and immediate priority in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, given the implications for the mental and physical wellbeing of billions across the globe.
The Start Network’s 2020 Member Assembly Representative Survey has revealed some key insights into satisfaction levels amongst our membership, reasons why members would encourage other organisations to join the Start Network and feedback on how we can improve our programmes.
While those in urban Laos prepare to manage the extended lockdown of the nation, ethnic minority women in remote communities are facing the protracted reality of issues that predated the pandemic including malnutrition, gender-based violence, and discrimination.
Following a limited top-up to the Start Fund COVID-19 fund, an additional 12 alerts have been activated. This brings the total number of activated alerts to 17, amounting to over £3.8m in funding.
One of the ways that Start Fund Bangladesh is shifting more power to local organisations is by ensuring they have more access to funding for operations costs, otherwise known as the Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) method, this enables them to improve and develop.
Iraq is a very fragile country facing multiple political, economic, social and security challenges after the ISIS crisis. Since October 2019, the political situation has been unstable, with massive civilian protests and a gap in governance at the national level. ISIS has sleeping cells in the country, and there has been a significant increase in IS reported incidents against civilians and Iraqi security forces in April 2020.This situation has been complicated further by the arrival of COVID-19.
