Tracking COVID-19 Financing — A Civil Society Perspective
By Elias Jika
Notes from the Civil Society-Led Session at the 2020 AfDB Civil Society Forum
The International Accountability Project in partnership with the Arab Watch Coalition (AWC) and Lumiere Synergie pour le Developpement (LSD) held a CSO-led session at the virtual 2020 AfDB Civil Society Forum on 27 November 2020, titled Tracking of COVID-19 Financing and Affected Communities’ Access to Information. The objectives of the session were to discuss:
- The Early Warning System COVID-19 DFI tracker and access to information at development banks and institutions
- Access and right to information for project-affected communities
- Obstacles to community and citizen engagement in development priorities and input into COVID-19 financing
The session was organized as part of the outreach efforts of the Early Warning System. The Early Warning System is an initiative that ensures local communities, and the organizations that support them, have verified information about projects being proposed at major development finance institutions and clear strategies for advocacy — ideally before funding is decided. The session shared how the Early Warning System could be used as a tool to respond to community needs in response to development projects and financing. The discussions also explored how activists and civil society organizations can be a part of the outreach community of the system and regularly receive information about newly proposed projects.
A recording of the conversation can be found here. If your organization is working in supporting communities affected by development projects and need support in accessing project information, materials for community organizers and with community-led campaigns, or want to explore points of mutual support, please contact us through iap@accountabilityproject.org or sign up to receive updates.
Also shared during the session was information about the research and advocacy work of the Coalition for Human Rights In Development on COVID19 relief financing. Please contact contact@rightsindevelopment.org for more information as well as the Rights in Development in Africa email listserv and the Defenders In the Development Campaign. The Coalition also has a public sign up for updates: https://rightsindevelopment.org/sign-up-for-updates/.
