Corona Virus / COVID-19 Response

The Corona Virus (also known as COVID-19) is disrupting the lives and livelihood of lives globally.  In response, Develop Africa is undertaking a multi-faceted response. This response targets key areas of need, based on our research and lessons learned from our previous successful Ebola response.

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Disaster strikes, and Develop Africa responds by helping to provide short-term assistance and long-term aid to restore hope and normalcy to the poor and destitute. In communities that are not prepared to handle the disaster, the people are left to fend for themselves. Our disaster relief projects will help provide emergency supplies like food, water, and medicine in addition to any longer-term recovery assistance that is needed. Initially, our efforts will be focused on immediate needs like food, fuel, clean water, hygiene products, and shelter. Long-term, our efforts will focus on proactive measures like housing assistance and reforestation. Storm, rain and flood disaster strikes hard.  It strikes particularly hard for those living in poverty.  Personal and family recovery is difficult when governments are not in a position to provide any support.  Families end up being devastated and scare resources are further depleted.

Defining disasters

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, a disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources.

Disasters have two general types.  Natural hazards like floods, landslides, volcanic activity, earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches,  extreme temperatures, wildfires, drought, cyclones, storms/wave surges, disease epidemics, and insect/animal plagues. These are naturally occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onset events. Technological or man-made hazards are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements. These include complex emergencies/conflicts, displaced populations, famine, industrial accidents, and transport accidents. This can also include environmental degradation, pollution, and accidents.

Disasters affect people

Disasters can take their toll on communities. Natural and Technological disaster strikes hard.  It strikes particularly hard for those living in poverty.  Personal and family recovery is difficult when governments are not in a position to provide any support.  Families end up being devastated and scarce resources are further depleted. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction between 1980 and 2008 Africa suffered from 1,699 disasters. From those disasters 708,712 people were killed, 319,465,879 people were affected by disasters.  This causes an average economic damage of $832,449,000 each year. For impoverished communities living in African countries with no social safety nets, the cost is overwhelming if not impossible. The loss of life and those displaced by disaster compounds the economic problems of disasters making a community’s recovery from disaster much more difficult. When disaster strikes African communities it devastates them.   

Our response to disasters

Our disaster relief efforts provide humanitarian support to help families and communities get back on track.  Funds go towards food, emergency help, cleanup efforts, fixing roofs, restoring damaged property, etc.

You can help bring relief from a disaster

Your donations will help bring restoration to disaster-affected families and communities in Africa by providing much-needed resources to help them get their lives back on track. In the short-term, they will receive help with food, fixing their houses / cleaning up debris, falling trees, etc. In the long term families and communities will receive help with regaining sufficiency and preparedness. Your generous gift can lift a family out of the nightmare they landed in, and help restore them to their normal life.