FOOSTEER INITIATIVE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Links to the immediate public health consequences of COVID-19 pandemic are those of economic and food security. The pandemic has devastated households, communities and people across the globe.

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, there is an urgent need to build and strengthen vulnerable rural communities resilience in coping and adapting to the new ways of living and doing things amidst COVID19 &post COVID-19 pandemic era.

Foosteer Initiative in responding to COVID19 have being at the frontline working in rural poor marginalized communities where vast majority are illiterate and lack access to information, conducting door to door sensitization on COVID-19.

Our strategy was to educate the community about #COVID19 and personal hygiene while providing basic palliatives and personal protective materials(e.g foodstuffs, facemask, hand gloves&sanitizers) vulnerable groups.

Prior to our visit, over 70% of members of the community didn’t believe Nigeria had an outbreak of Corona Virus although learnt about it from radio announcements.

Findings from our activities showed increased worry, anxiety& hunger in communities.

Beneficiary of Foosteer COVID-19 palliative support

COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have impacted negatively on vulnerable households particularly women / children headed households who earn their income daily, but can no longer afford to feed their families.

We also observed decline in farming activities, most community Foosteer visited lamented of increased cost of basic Agricultural farm inputs such as improved seedlings, fertilizer and Agro-allied chemicals.

Smallholders’ farmers complained of none availability of government subventions for smallholders farmers at the moment due to a shift in Nigerian government focus to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.

Also children who ought to be in school are at home roaming about, losing out on an opportunity to learn at school because schools are shut down all over the country.

60+ households benefited already.