Comments

Thanks Robyn for highlighting the increased risks of COVID-19 infection to resource-limited settings where the pandemic’s impacts will potentially be devastating. As you so rightly said, women and children are the ones already suffering the most from malnutrition and we must address and mitigate the gendered impact of the COVID-19 infection as an equal emergency during the crisis, while also building resilience through nature regeneration, gender equity and social justice in the long-term.

Revisioning Resourcing and Task Allocation in Light of COVID-19 Managing resources during a time when international travel has largely stopped has no doubt posed challenges for the implementation of development projects everywhere. Many international experts have returned home, new advisers are unable to mobilise and those who remained in-country, may not be able to return home at the end of their inputs. At Aus4Transport, we are experiencing this firsthand and it has the potential to delay the Detailed Design of the Central Highlands Connectivity Transport Project (CHCIP) and the Northern Mountains Province Transport Connectivity Project (NMPTCP) we are currently supporting the Government of Vietnam to implement. Seeing an opportunity to help our consultants address these challenges – where one team has international experts here who are nearing the end of their assignments, or are undertaking intermittent inputs due to changes to project schedules and delays in field consultations – while the other team is unable to mobilise international experts as per their schedule resulting in a different kind of delay – we introduced the two consultant teams to see if there was a way they could work together and help each other out with resourcing needs. We are also looking at innovative ways to allow international experts to work from their home location and provide support to the local field teams in different ways using video and teleconferencing, document sharing and remote workshopping. This has already resulted in one request to substitute the Social Development Specialist nominated for the NMPTP, who is unable to mobilise, with a Social Development Specialist on the CHCIP who is already based in Vietnam and working only intermittently on CHCIP. Thinking outside the square, and revisioning the allocation and use of experts, advisers and other resources is critical in a time like this and allows us to keep things moving while the world comes to a relative stand-still.

Thanks Robyn for so eloquently describing the underlying problems of our health system, which our food systems are a part. When the dust begins to settle from the COVID-19 crisis we will need strong arguments for a review of current health policies and implementing agencies. The balance between a curative medicine and preventive surveillance and response measures has never been equal, yet this crisis highlights very strongly the need for greater understanding of the emergence of pathogens from food systems, their rapid detection and proportionate management responses.

Thanks for the comment, Sarah. But can't developed countries just allow much more immigration than they currently do? Seems easier and less risky than starting from scratch (even from a political standpoint).

Thanks Dan good comment, To sum up my take after reading yours and others' comments. CDFs are almost certainly going to be part of the government's response in Solomons. (Indeed, as Casper suggests, they already are in a transport sense.) There are benefits to this: it's quick, the money actual reaches rural areas, and MPs have a political incentive for it to work, in a way. There are drawbacks too, though: CDF spending has been targeted to MPs' supporters in the past in some/most electorates; also, disbursal of CDF funds to MPs seems to sometimes be politicised (harder at times for the opposition to get). Then there's an unknown: quite a lot of CDF money seems to 'leak' on route from MP to people at the grassroots. Hopefully, this is less of an issue in a crisis. Thanks again for a great comment. Terence

Great blog Terence. On the use of CDFs in Solomons - and referring to James' reference to precedent - in 2015, in the wake of a number of cyclones, disaster relief funds were allocated directly to constituencies. The practice was criticized by the Public Accounts Committee at the time: “[t]he committee was very concerned about the decision to channel funds directly to the constituencies as it could lead to politicization of essential assistance and leave people vulnerable…”. In 2016, the PAC recommended the establishment of a “proper legal frame” for the “administration, control and management of the Disaster Relief Fund.” (These quotes are from PAC reports.) Of course, nothing happened. This is one of the few times where CDFs really shine as a means of quickly getting cash out the door to where it is most needed - in a fashion vastly quicker than the traditional bureaucracy could do I daresay.

Should there be any extension after this 14 days of lockdown, it must be updated ASAP so the citizens are fully aware of the situation.

Thanks for bringing up such an important topic about the intertwining effects of human health, and plant and animal health. It's just so much to follow COVID-19 itself that sometimes we forget to look at the broader, interacting factors, and how support across these different entities will be affected. It would be good if governments can better understand that competing priorities shouldn't be examined in a siloed fashion, but to examine them synergistically to see the larger threats to people's health, agriculture, environment, society, and economy.

Really interesting Owen, thanks. I particularly agree with the values that you have laid out here. For the rest I don't disagree exactly but I do have some concerns about the framing. It seems that the overall presentation of the disaster response actor here is of someone who does things *to* or *for* those affected by the disaster, rather than someone who does things *with* them. And while there certainly is plenty that may need to be done for affected people, it is in fact those people who are the first responders to their own crisis, who are there for the long haul. Many people with these values will emerge from within the affected communities, and a top order responsibility of the disaster worker has to be to recognise them and to facilitate their leadership. One thing I take a very different view on is in your last dot point: "When there is no-one in charge, special people take control, then hand it back to the appropriate people when they appear." This suggests that the earlier status quo is desirable or achievable, and also that those who step forward are not in fact the appropriate people in the long term. And there is also the fact that more than a few people are in fact very reluctant to give up control once they have experienced it! In development more generally (beyond disasters) there is going to be a lot of localisation/decolonisation happening in coming months – the choice of label may depend on whether you work in an INGO or a local organisation, and who is in charge of the process! Whatever the case, 'handing back power' may be the last thing that anyone wants.

There is so much hype around COVID-19 – coping with this pandemic is not any different from its predecessors, including self-consciousness of our actions and interactions with others. Treating this pandemic as the armageddon is ignoring the other opportunities to really show our humanity in this world: starvation kills 20 times more people around the world on a yearly basis, and homelessness, lack of education and many other non-related diseases affect many more people creating a downward spiral of poverty that kills millions worldwide. This pandemic is the tip of the iceberg on a number of pandemic diseases over the past 100 years, without having the same severity yet of the previous ones; however, this time the world is aware through access to social networks. The opportunity is there to show humanity, to understand that there is balance on everything and that our individual actions affect everything around us. My main concern beyond self-awareness and following the recommended precautions, is the potential impact on the world's economy, which could create another disaster through lack of resources to feed and shelter millions around the world, leading to fear, chaos and vandalism. From DT-Global we could be working with governments to motivate and foster safe economic and trade development in impoverished societies. We can't let fear overcome our ability to thrive and innovate to resolve this pandemic – wash your hands, wear face masks, keep physical contact at safe distances, but overall, show HUMANITY and help others overcome the economic battle to come.

Govt to clarify next steps to carry forward after 14 days. The govt and the Health Department have been doing fine to contain the coronavirus since the positive case was declared in PNG. Those who believed to be affected were tested and found negative. It is impressive that the Australian man who was the first infected with the Virus was sent back to Australia. Some of these people who were believed to be infected by the virus tested negative, then what's the next step that the government will take? As as concerned citizen, I urge the govt to stop all the Seaports and Airports and propose control mechanisms, making sure to stop fly-ins.

<b>The special characteristics of disaster workers are more common than I thought.</b> Over the years that I worked in Aceh I observed a few very effective people who I believed changed the nature of professionalism in disaster response (<a href="https://www.academia.edu/10829310/Little-Known_Aussie_and_Kiwi_Innovators_in_Aceh_who_changed_the_nature_of_professionalism_in_disaster_response" rel="nofollow ugc">here</a>), and I wrote up the adaptations that certain professions need to be effective (<a href="https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pmwj9-apr2013-podger-post-disaster-reconstruction-FeaturedPaper.pdf" rel="nofollow ugc">here</a>). And now we are working from home we are all having to adapt in similar ways to those we observed in Aceh. And the rush of governments and the medical professions and medical research to respond is illustrating these adaptations far better than I could in my observations in Aceh, and proving them to be more common than I thought. But it may still be worthwhile noting the values and principles we use, and the way we use them to shape our environments. <b>Values</b> We are finding so many special people that are helping with this crisis who have these values in common: <ul> <li>Strategic. They comprehend and continually assess where they are and where they want to go. They continually adjust their plans in order to assure they get the results they intended.</li> <li>Adaptability, a sense of when to be adaptive, and the values and principles of adapting.</li> <li>Compassion. They have compassion for those who suffer, and their colleagues in relief who struggle to make sense and make a contribution.</li> <li>Respect, first of all for community, then for government and colleagues. Even those who might not deserve respect are treated respectfully.</li> <li>Passion. Our special people do not just do their job, they do it with passion.</li> <li>Determination. They did not give up easily.</li> <li>Gratitude. They all expressed gratitude for being able to be part of it all.</li> </ul> <b>Principles</b> Our special people are guided by common principles: <ul> <li>Those who suffer are their clients, directly or indirectly.</li> <li>It is communities and economies that recover, not just sick people.</li> <li>Our special people know they might be wrong about assumptions, but they move forward. Wrong turns are detected quickly to move to right ones</li> <li>They recognise when standard practices are inappropriate and aim to tailor better ones.</li> <li>An honest trail is better than a creative report. Special people do not like writing reports. But they all keep records and love to tell people what they had done.</li> <li>Z-learning curves. They assume every event requires intensive learning to gain new understanding and new competencies as they go along.</li> </ul> Again I repeat the motto of Bob McKerrow, a long-time special Red Cross person: “do your best and then a little more.” And we all are doing that, even if we are just staying home. <b>Creating environment</b> Special people put effort into shaping their work environment or just their home environment. <ul> <li>Testing and challenging systems. Just like we cannot rely on solving problems if we do not understand them, we cannot rely on a system unless we understand how it won’t harm us. The Corona virus has turned on research into the virus and also into the social systems we need to depend on.</li> <li>Tailoring systems. When standard operating procedures are not appropriate, special people around the world are create new ones, always trying to create certainty.</li> <li>Building purposeful networks including the local community, government and fellow recovery workers. Never before have we seen such a wealth of new networks, from home schooling to public announcements, to caring for the poor and vulnerable.</li> <li>Expediting decision-making. The pressure to act drives our special people to avoid both delaying a decision and making an instant decision, and they are decisive in everything.</li> <li>Volunteering and claiming authority. We see everywhere people volunteering to take responsibility, and take authority, asking to be delegated the power to make decisions that affected other people. When there is no-one in charge, special people take control, then hand it back to the appropriate people when they appear.</li> </ul> As I discover that the special skills and aptitudes I saw in Aceh are so common now as we face this virus and its impact, I wish all readers well, and take care.