Developing and implementing inclusive policies in response to the Covid-19 pandemic

About the project

The Government of Pakistan launched a range of initiatives to address the Covid-19 pandemic. The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, developed with support from the World Health Organisation, highlighted the need for international assistance to stop the transmission of the pandemic and addressed the emerging public health needs in the country. The government also published the National Action Plan for Coronavirus Disease to outline the guiding principles for emergency outbreak preparedness and containment and rolled out the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program as a social protection measure.

The need for a more coordinated and inclusive government response to the pandemic has been acknowledged by both government and civil society organisations.

This project will contribute to an improved government response to the Covid-19 pandemic by building the capacity of CSOs to engage with government.

This will be achieved by:

• conducting a review of Covid-19 response policies and plans, assessing their responsiveness and the inclusion of marginalised groups
• preparing two policy notes that will highlight the key policy and planning challenges that impact disaster response efforts
• preparing guidelines on developing inclusive and responsive localised Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Sustainable Development Plans
• forming a national network of CSOs and building their capacity to engage with national and provincial government in policy dialogues on issues related to the pandemic
• establishing a learning collaboration platform of CSOs that will disseminate information from the review of Covid-19 response policies and share lessons learned (including through social media)
• Using newspaper articles and digital communication networks to raise awareness of the key policy planning and management challenges in the Covid-19 response and associated DRR policies