Emergency COVID-19 funds reach hundreds of NGOs

In Global Advocacy, Global Featured by Fiona Ip

Thanks to efforts of community-based organizations (CBOs), with some timely help from the AHF Fund, people across the globe have been given the hope and necessities they need to survive and thrive amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Puerto Rico, Institute ANCLA (a social service and mental health non-profit CBO) used its grant to purchase fruits and vegetables from local farmers, saving many of their harvests. They then delivered the food to 34 families (119 people) and have another round of food distribution planned in the coming days that will support an additional 48 families.
In some of the most impoverished areas in Brazil, Gestos distributed packages of food, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies to 156 people and families living with HIV/AIDS. And the OROL Youth Empowerment Initiative in Nigeria used its grant to provide more than 3,000 meals which included grab-and-go meals for out-of-school children and food packages for hundreds of households.
“People everywhere, and particularly communities in developing countries, have been devastated by the strict lockdowns and quarantines imposed by many governments in response to the novel coronavirus,” said Joey Terrill, AHF Director of Global Advocacy and Partnerships. “I’m just so thankful that we were able to provide some level of support to these organizations that do so much to help people living with HIV and the communities in which they live.”
Widespread food insecurity, a lack of personal hygiene products and daily necessities, and inadequate funding to perform their missions are just a handful of obstacles that CBOs and the people they care for are facing during the pandemic. These challenges prompted AHF, which created the AHF Fund in 2012 to help struggling HIV/AIDS organizations, to adjust the Fund’s model to provide fast and easy emergency relief to 214 CBOs for their urgent COVID-19 relief efforts.
Stay tuned for upcoming e-Blasts over the next few weeks as we’ll continue introducing you to many more invaluable community-based organizations around the world!
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