Comments

It was great to see such strong evidence-based analysis of Oxfam’s woes. It was clear before covid-19 that the development sector in Australia was broken. Many NGOs were only surviving because of their historical investments in growing regular giving and financial reserves. In Australia (and many other countries), there is simply too many NGOs, chasing too few dollars, all generally using the same business models in a sector experiencing declining fundraising ROI at a time of escalating costs and demand. The covid-19 pandemic has simply accelerated these strategic challenges, leaving even less time for INGOs to get their houses in order. Of course, the key challenge is the challenge of change. Despite all of the challenges, there has been remarkably little change in the make-up of Australia’s largest charities over recent decades. For the most part, the sector looks very similar to the way it did 20 years ago, just much bigger. Unfortunately, many charities, despite their innovative beginnings, have become radical ideas stuck in concrete. Why has the sector been so slow to respond to these change challenges? Boards and executive teams have not focused enough on long-term strategic trends. Despite the rhetoric about mission, most boards and management teams prioritise the organisation over their mission. There is simply too little incentive to make changes before value is destroyed. This is compounded by many organisations living hand to mouth. Declining fundraising efficiency is making change even harder. Donors have also starved charities of the capital they need. Donors want as much money to be spent on direct program costs and see investments in organisational capacity as mere administration, to be minimised. This thinking is often encouraged by charities themselves. The result is a sector woefully unprepared to respond to the challenges it now confronts.

Very interesting article on how COVID-19 has impacted the lived and livelihoods kd people with disabilities. It is worth taking additional measures to safeguard and protect health and wellbeing for there people. They deserve human investment and support, not just during the COVID, but after the pandemic.

That's an interesting point about the risk of COVID-19 leading to disability - this is where we can start to see the cycle of poverty and disability. Living with a disability increases likelihood of you living in poverty - and living in poverty increases risk of acquiring disability, including through poor health outcomes or inability to access healthcare to treat something like COVID-19. And yes this issues are absolutely faced by people with disabilities in Australia also - peak organisations like the First People's Disability Network, People with Disabilities Australia and Australian Federation of Disabled Organisations are working tirelessly on the huge challenges faced by people with disabilities here. Thanks so much for reading.

Great post, thanks Alex and Lucy. Friends with disability in Australia have also experienced challenges in getting shopping and supplies, particularly when people were hoarding and stockpiling, but some have found the increased availability of telehealth extremely useful. It is particularly alarming reading some of the stories of people experiencing prolonged illness after COVID-19 infections also, with symptoms mirroring long-term invisible and disabling illnesses like ME/CFS or leaving lung, heart and kidney damage. The pandemic may lead to more people living with a disability, only making the need for services and inclusion even greater.

Thank you, Lynne for your comment & I hope the same.

Given that every published case was imported or (probably the overwhelming majority) contracted in quarantine centres, how can you credit hand washing and other community measures with T-L's success (so far!)? Early closure of the borders has been the key.

Thank you for this analysis. Do you have a publicly available report or publication of the survey results you mentioned? If you do, we'd be interested in sharing it on FinDev Gateway where we are maintaining a list different publications and data trackers on the impact of COVID-19 for financial inclusion.

What a nice piece, well structured and articulated.

Excellent piece! Resourceful and thoughtful, and enjoyable read. I think you might want to also check out two more essays on gender in Crawford School's Policy Forum blog on gender.

Thank you Mr. Moses Pala. COVID 19 has affected the supply of fresh produce from all over Highlands and Sogeri into the cities. The government has allocated K41.5m to subsidise shipping costs. This benefits consumers, but not necessarily producers. It is also not sustainable. In terms of assistance, the paper proposes for the DDA or PEC to channel funding through FPDA, in your case. Its the prerogative of the government on the best approach. Thank you

Dear brother, You wrote nice on Tuvalu and I appreciate this.

Peter & Monica, Thank you very much for your comments in regards to my article. As you rightly stated many Papua New Guineans lean to what the Prime Minister has stated and many faithful Christians prayed for God's mercy and protection during the period of COVID-19. Having said this, however, we have two types of people - one is educated and urban based and the other is illiterate and rural based. The rural based population makes up 80%-85% of the country's population and whatever information that is transmitted to them in times of crisis like COVID-19 is often taken for granted. If care can be taken when preparing important public health prevention messages then we would do justice to most of the rural based population who are the main consumers. A more culturally appropriate way to present messages would be to have pictures of real people in proper dressing washing hands with sanitizer or people standing 1-2 meters apart or health workers visiting the locals and telling them to stay home rather than having the unseen viral killer represented in some form of frightening graphic images. This gives completely wrong impressions to the illiterate majority in the villages and in settlements around suburbs. I concur with you that no "quasi-religious messages" must be presented. In Papua New Guinea a variety of Christian movements are popping up everywhere trying to convince people and gain numbers. Besides the mainline Christian churches who are able to understand the crisis situations and comply with the government's instructions and spread the right message, there are other smaller Christian sects who often preach at market places and spread false messages. Their messages are often full of fear and misleading and in times of national health emergencies like COVID-19, it poses great risks for the public. A warning to market and street preachers on spreading false information that undermines scientific truth and understanding during health emergencies would be appropriate for the future.