RESCUING AFRICA FROM IMMINENT COLLAPSE: An Emergency Palliative Relief Project
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had and continues to have a serious impact on Sub-Saharan Africa and indeed entire Africa. As the continent and the individual countries struggle to contain the spread of the virus, the socio-economic implications of the pandemic continue to put the entire continent on edge so much so that it is fast becoming a hotbed for health, social and economic emergencies.
The economies of the individual countries are largely driven by trade in commodities such as cocoa, coffee, gold, diamond, solid minerals and oil and gas with major trading partners being Europe, America, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Countries and Asia (mostly China). The pre-COVID commodity boom had put most of the Economies on a serious growth pedestal and the growth trajectories were in a positive upward swing.
However, the Pandemic and its attendant lockdown have suspended trade with the European Union, the OECD Countries, America and China leading to zero trade and investment, demand slump and intra-African supply shock which combine to exacerbate the problem of food insecurity, loss of income and livelihood, lack of medical supplies, difficulty in applying sanitary, hygiene and physical distancing measures with a potentially explosive debt crisis, political and security risks and a quantum leap in illegal migration to Europe and America.
In the case of Nigeria, A country that is largely dependent on Oil and Gas, the consequent near-zero drops in oil prices have completely wiped out the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the growth projections which has left the country in the dire strait in need of emergency response.
The United Nations has estimated that Africa requires a comprehensive global response package to the tune of $200 billion in the immediate and medium-term, if the looming calamity of hunger, massive migration to Europe, health crisis, conflict, and other social milieu are to be averted.
The forgoing forms the background for this proposal by Africans Preventing Poverty Foundation (APPF) as an emergency response to accelerating the much-needed interventions involving Emergency Palliative Relief to at least 3,700,000 persons initially.
ABOUT THE AFRICANS PREVENTING POVERTY FOUNDATION (APPF)
APPF is a non-profit, non-governmental, and non-political volunteer organization registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria.
Our Focus is on the empowerment of individuals and communities to transcend the increasing incidence of poverty in Africa and we have been at the forefront of interventions (including distributing Palliatives)during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the catalyst for a well-coordinated program of intervention by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Haven seen the impact our previous and ongoing interventions have made towards providing succor to the beneficiary communities, we have decided to embark on a large-scale all-inclusive program that will cover the entire states in Nigeria at the initial stage and Africa eventually.
For the sake of posterity, we exist to create an enabling environment that will empower individuals with opportunities to make a decent living and become change agents in their immediate communities. The challenge is daunting, but our antecedents and competence have prepared us to achieve resounding successes.
VISION
To create empowered and literate communities, free of hunger and diseases with basic amenities.
PROBLEMS TO BE ADDRESSED
- COVID-19 has halted the activities of the Informal sector and daily labourers and exacerbated the level of poverty in the country. The informal sector employs more women and youths than in any sector in Nigeria.
- Increasing Unemployment has resulted in the loss of income and livelihood.
- Negative GDP, burgeoning inflation rate, suspension of Diaspora remittances, and the increasing incidence of orphans has left in its wake tales of woes begging for intervention.
- 90% of households use water that is contaminated.
- COVID-19 has increased the population of extremely poor Nigerians to about 95.7M (half the country’s population).
- There is an acute food shortage that is threatening to wipe out the productive portion of the population.
- Lack of medical supply, protective tools, awareness, and difficulty in applying sanitary, hygiene, and physical distancing measures has led to the current explosive nature of community spread of the virus.
JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROJECT
Nigeria and indeed Africa is the danger of a systemic and socioeconomic collapse due to the health, social and economic destruction the COVID-19 Pandemic leaves in its wake. This is made worse by the limited awareness, especially in rural areas. Most of these communities depend on government interventions which have been slow, limited, in some cases unavailable and fraught with bureaucratic bottlenecks leaving people stranded and literarily gasping for breath.
APPF provides a platform for large-scale distribution of palliatives – food items, beverages, detergents and toiletries, hand sanitizers and face masks, locally fabricated handwashing docks, information leaflets, and remote psychological assistance. Our programs transcend age, status, gender, background, and location.
We have grown to be a reference point for knowledge-based pandemic management and mobilizer of resources for sustained palliative and health response.
PROJECT GOALS
This project aims to fulfill the requirements of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In doing this we hope to avoid the catastrophic consequence of hunger, poverty, and inequality and stem the tide of illegal migration that has become a global menace.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
This Project is for an emergency Palliative Relief for all the 36 states in Nigeria including the FCT to include but not limited to the following:
- Distribution of Basic Food Items
- Distribution of Detergents and Toiletries
- Distribution of Information Leaflets
- Distribution of Hand Sanitizers and face masks
- Distribution of Disposable Sanitizing Wipes to public drivers, police, and public service providers.
- Provision of Remote Psychological Assistance
Click on the image below to download the APP COVID-19 Educational Guide.
PROJECT BENEFITS
The realizable benefits of the project are classified into short, medium, and long – term periods as follows:
| Short-Term | Medium- Term | Long-Term |
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|
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BUDGET
| S/N | Item | Quantity | Rate | Amount (USD$) |
| Food Items | 370,000 | 39.47 | 14,605,263.16 | |
| Detergents and Toiletries | 370,000 | 13.16 | 4,868,421.05 | |
| Information Leaflets | 2,000,000 | 1.71 | 3,421,052.63 | |
| Hand Sanitizers and face masks | 370,000 | 6.58 | 2,434,210.53 | |
| Disposable Sanitizing Wipes | 100,000 | 39.47 | 3,947,368.42 | |
| Remote Psychological Assistance | 370,000 | 13.16 | 4,868,421.05 | |
| 34,144,736.84 |
The need for global solidarity and intervention in Africa cannot be overemphasized. Curtailing the spread and impact of the pandemic is in the interest of the entire world because allowing the virus to fester and poverty/hunger to continue unabated is capable of creating a humanitarian crisis of epic proportion and might aid to exacerbate the global incidence of illegal migration with the attendant social consequences of continuous slavery, crime, prostitution, and loss of lives.
