COVID-19 Important information for AmplifyChange grantees

This page will be updated as the situation progresses. Please check your emails and follow us on social media for further announcements.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting our work and the work of most AmplifyChange grantees.

The situation varies between locations and is evolving over time. Your working environment may have changed significantly, and further changes may still come. You therefore may not know how this will impact upon your grant financed by AmplifyChange.

We would like to offer you our support and we want to hear from you about how we can help.

Stay safe

Above all, we ask you to keep your teams, partners and beneficiaries safe during the pandemic. You are best placed to make decisions to protect your team and the wider public’s health. Please feel supported to make these decisions, even if it is at the expense of your project’s implementation.

Use verified resources, such as the following articles from the World Health Organization (WHO), for accurate information on how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19:

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public
• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters
• Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19)

Talk to us – we’re flexible

We are here to work with you to find appropriate next steps.

We are open to changes in your project to protect your team, partners and the communities you serve. This could mean altering your activities to support and monitor the COVID-19 response or updating budgets to purchase materials to help you and your core team to work from home.

We recognise that in some cases you may need to put some or all of your project activities temporarily on hold as the situation progresses. We support your decision to do this.

If you have questions or concerns for your grant please contact your Grant Support Team member at AmplifyChange.

Download our FAQs

Please download our Frequently Asked Questions document below which outlines our responses to key questions about your grant, including more information on adapting activities and budgets. We will continue to update this document as the situation develops.

It is important to note that your overall budget must remain at the original approved amount.

Watch our guidance webinars on adapting your project activities

How to contact us if your work is affected

1. Please email your Grant Support Team contact at AmplifyChange
2. Please include the title ‘COVID-19 impact’ and your grant reference number
3. Copy enquire@amplifychange.org into the message so we can keep track of correspondence in case any of our team are absent

AmplifyChange will continue to run as normally as possible during this time but we appreciate your patience if you experience delays.

Adapt

COVID-19 easily transmitted from one person to another, so we need to think about how we continue our work to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) without causing unintentional harm.

AmplifyChange grantees have been quick to react and adapt their work. For ideas and inspiration on adapting to COVID-19 please see their lessons on AmplifyChangeLearn.

Public gatherings encourage the spread of coronavirus. You also run the risk of causing reputational damage to your campaign by hosting unnecessary gatherings at this time.

In all countries, we advise grantees to:

• Stay up to date with government advice on public gatherings
  
• Refer to the latest guidance from the WHO about protecting yourself, your team and your communities
  
• Work remotely and use alternative solutions for meetings, such as video calling
  
• Take your advocacy online and use digital tools, such as social media or email, where possible to organise your work and spread your message
  
• If gatherings are still taking place, try to create safer conditions by putting in place physical distancing rules, regular handwashing and using hand sanitiser

Useful resources for working from home or remotely

• CIVICUS has compiled a list of resources for organisations facing COVID-19 with advice on building resilience and links to civil society responses and tools to organise your work digitally
• Collaboration Superpowers have a hub of information and tips for remote working, including a dedicated COVID-19 page
• This list developed by Equality Labs contains advice on how to follow good digital security practices

Learn – see our COVID-19 resources

Tips and advice from AmplifyChange grantees on how to manage during a health crisis can be found in our ‘How-to’ guides on AmplifyChangeLearn.

Please see our dedicated COVID-19 resources page for more information and direct links. We will also be circulating a selection of these via email and social media.

Read our interactive COVID-19 Policy Brief

Our interactive COVID-19 Policy Brief outlines the key issues affecting SRHR. We profile what civil society organisations need, demonstrating how AmplifyChange grantees are adapting to the pandemic.

Click the link below to read the Policy Brief and share it with your networks. (Link opens in full screen)

Thank you for your continued efforts to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights at this difficult time.

We send our best wishes for the important work that you do and for the health and well-being of your communities.

The AmplifyChange Team.