Due to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in December 2019 and its subsequent spread in Nigeria, Follow The Money initiative seeks to activate campaigns reaching out to communities in the 36 States in Nigeria and portray the poor state of our health care facilities across communities in Nigeria.
This campaign is educating people on the COVID-19 Virus and preventive measures to mitigate risks and reduce contacts. This campaign should also be able to make citizens take charge٫ in order to ensure that their immediate communities are sensitized by following the World Health Organization’s guidelines towards curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citizens taking part in this campaign will also come up with reports that discuss the state of Health Care Centers in their communities and to also take pictures٫ so the world would see the state of Health care facilities in Nigeria.
The campaign is also calling on the government to prioritise the state of Health Care Centers, increase salaries and allowances of medical practitioners, and also provide funds meant for WASH in medical facilities and hospitals in all communities in the federation.
This campaign focus should also be on advocating for clean water in medical facilities and rural communities. This is because٫ one of the important measures of preventing this virus is by washing hands regularly. Without clean water٫, how do we expect people in poor medical facilities and rural communities to wash their hands regularly and also provision of soap, alcohol-based hand sanitizers and other antibacterial material to prevent people from getting the virus?
Through this campaign, we will initiate a nationwide call on iFollowTheMoney platform to all users on the platform for improved engagement and user-friendliness of the platform. The strategy is to begin the assessment of our sustainability plan and to evaluate the level at which citizens can take ownership of the follow the money model.
Campaign Objectivesare;
Increase citizen participation in ensuring transparency and accountability in the health sector
Educate citizens on the COVID-19 pandemic and how they prevent themselves from getting the virus
Advocate for improved health care facilities and clean water, for everyone especially in the rural communities
Advocate for the increase of health practitioners’ salaries٫ provide adequate materials needed for medical research, provide preventive measures for this kind of disease if it happens again
Increase engagement and sign-ups on the iFollowTheMoney platform
Monitoring Public Procurement Spending during the COVID-19 Outbreak
This article was culled from Open Contracting Partnership
Many governments have turned to emergency procedures, especially expedited processes or negotiated contracts. While a rapid and efficient response is paramount to ensure the well-being of all citizens, transparency is essential to maintain the quality, sustainability, and impact of these contracts.
Health workers wait to screen travellers for signs of the coronavirus at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. Photo by: REUTERS / Francis Kokoroko
Beyond emergency procurement for essential items, it’s also important to keep an eye on how public spending is managed generally in the midst of a crisis like this. There’s a high risk of mismanagement, corruption, and fraud in public procurement at the best of times, let alone when public attention is diverted elsewhere.
Here are some ideas for leads on investigating procurement spending in the midst of the crisis, but please bear in mind that public contracting data and documents probably only tell part of the story so you must build a more complete picture of the situation by talking to authorities and independent health and procurement experts.
Where to find procurement information
Check your government’s online procurement platform. This index by the Open Knowledge Foundation has a run-down of resources by country. You can also check aggregated data portals like the new World Bank Global Public Procurement Database, and where available, red flagging tools such as Tenders.Guru.
What to look for
We have a comprehensive guide of 150 indicators of suspicious behavior in procurement. Below are some you might want to look out for when examining the COVID-19 crisis.
Responsiveness — Look at whether tenders are advertised and contracts are signed in a timely manner. Also confirm if tenders are published for the purpose of transparency and accountability.
Preparedness — What contracts were in place to mitigate the risk of pandemics before this outbreak took hold?
Inflated prices & unqualified suppliers — How do prices compare? And what is the suppliers’ history in previous emergencies?
Rushed direct awards — Although obviously urgent, this quick spending dramatically increases the risk of corruption and mismanagement.
Delivery/implementation — Were the goods or services provided as promised? Cross-reference official data with interviews, photos and other materials from local civil society groups and community members who are the designated recipients.
Fixed services— Many ongoing maintenance services will not be needed at full capacity in places where public offices, schools, and cultural venues are closed. It’s worth checking these maintenance contracts in detail to see whether the terms agreed to require the government to still pay.
Apart from COVID-19 and its variations, you could search for critical items as defined by the World Health Organization and local health authorities, such as personal protective equipment or PPE, masks, ventilators, test kits, gloves, alcohol, scrubs, body bags, aprons, respirators, and other common names for medicines, health supplies and equipment.
Some countries are using emergency funds to manage COVID-19 response spending, so you can search for budget lines related to those funds.
Look out for other goods and services that might be in demand as government services shift to remote work, and authorities introduce quarantine measures. These might include video-conferencing services, laptops, call center services, temp workers, public information websites, apps and other telecommunication services. Support services for vulnerable populations and cleaning services are worth checking too.
Keeping your information organized
Structure your information to understand what details you have and what’s missing. The Open Contracting Data Standard provides a global schema to structure the procurement information you gather throughout the investigation. Using a single identifier or ID code to bring together information on the different stages of procurement procedures — that is planning, tender, award, contract and implementation (such as payments and amendments) — enables you to track the process. The Data Standard is served by a free helpdesk and many tools to help facilitate your work.
Don’t forget the good news stories
Finally, procuring essential services and goods such as testing kits and masks is an important service powered by many dedicated procurement professionals in the government, who are working under immense pressure to support everyone. So a big shout out where things are going well is an important part of the story too. Sharing solutions goes a long way to building trust in uncertain times and reminds readers that the actions we choose to take can make all difference.
The Nigerian extractive sector is plagued with a lack of transparency resulting in the vulnerability of the sector to bad dealings and illicit financial transactions. A consequence of this is a huge loss of revenues for the Nigerian government. This lack of transparency, compounded with weak governance, regulatory frameworks, and rule of law, allows Oil and Gas companies, as well as other major players in the sector, operate in an unaccountable manner, abuse human rights, partake in illicit financial flows and exploit the fragility phenomenon in many oil-producing communities.
The situation is further worsened by “shadow” multinational oil companies which operate in Nigeria but are not registered by law and who exploit Nigeria’s fragile and corrupt context, including its weak regulatory framework to perpetuate their illegality, evade tax obligations and avoid accountability, which constitutes oil theft.
NEITI reports that about $4.2 billion is lost annually to crude and product losses resulting from stealing, process lapses and pipeline vandalism. This means that from 2013 to date, approximately $30 billion has been lost to oil theft.
The OXFAM Conflict and Fragility has launched a competition tagged the 30 Billion Challenge. The competition requires that participants write a short essay or create videos explaining how this fund would have been better utilised in their communities.
Winner stands the chance of winning N200,000 worth of prizes.
Email admin@connecteddevelopment.org for more enquiries.
COVID19: Regaining Citizen’s Trust through Strategic Communications
by Kevwe Oghide
Citizens distrust in Nigerian government spans two decades and continues to hit a downward slope. At a time, some of the measures of trust or distrust in government were corruption, inequality and poor economic performance. Today, trust is also measured based on lack of transparency, exclusion of citizens from governance and poor communication.
Trust matters for many reasons, not only because a disconnect between promises and lived experiences can result in a vicious circle, government’s initiatives cannot function without the support of citizens.
Today, the world is shaken by the effect of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), which first broke out in China late December and has spread to over 200 counties with over 2,729,274 confirmed cases, and 191,614 deaths, according to the John Hopkins University COVID19 dashboard. A crisis that was initially termed an epidemic in China has now become a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
As the world grapples with the accelerating spread of the pandemic, WHO predicts that Africa may yet be the worst hit by this disease. It urges the region to “wake up to the increasing threat and prepare for a worst-case scenario. In Nigeria, the number of confirmed cases rose by 340% in a week and currently stands at 981 confirmed cases as at the time of writing this article.
In a country where people are discontent with the economy and governance structure, predictions like this increase citizens’ concern for the inability of the current failing health structure in the nation to sufficiently combat a pandemic of this kind. Frankly, Nigeria’s already ailing health system coupled with poor data and statistical capacity, will likely be overwhelmed with the lethality of COVID-19. Multiple factors can weaken the effectiveness of Government responses to a pandemic of this kind — the vulnerability of Nigeria’s healthcare system; low human capital; the use of outdated equipment, the lack of standard facilities and weak supply chains.
At the heart of building trust is the process of communications. The Nigerian government currently battles poor communication of decisions; poor aggregation of donations and interventions received, which is fuelling fake news and other issues. If implemented properly, strategic communications play a significant role in increasing the government’s credibility among citizens even at this crucial time.
Reading through posts on Facebook and Twitter, one can literally feel the apprehension of Nigerians as they call out public institutions and the Nigerian government to adequately communicate updates and decisions that are being taken to address the health crisis and measures that are implemented to provide relief and palliatives for the vulnerable groups. A decline in trust at this time can lead to possible chaos and lawlessness, as reported in some parts of the country.
Although effective communication (using all available channels) does not automatically rectify years of mistrust or excuse poor service delivery, it however, provides an opportunity for the government to apply the principles of transparency, accountability and inclusive governance.
Understandably, the Nigerian government is under extreme pressure with the strain of COVID19 and the impact on people, the economy and the society in general. With the growing difficulty to manage public expectations, interactions with citizens can help the government identify concerns, allay fears and assure people of its approach to fight COVID-19.
A wide population of Nigerians who are largely offline (and are less informed) are increasingly skeptical of the government. So, in the face of this growing mistrust among the citizenry, what can government institutions do? Creating a more truth-based, fact-driven, unprejudiced media to curtail fake-news is key, tackling misconceptions and breaking down social media echo chambers; engaging Communications and PR Specialists at this time to strategise means of reaching grassroots people and sensitize them in local dialects on their role in staying safe and following government directives are also plausible.
Government institutions must also look inward to what it controls — its programs, its people, and its processes. That is where strategic communications can play a narrow, but impactful role in building credibility. Enhancing transparency may mean changing the structure and composition of the communications function; providing expanded information and establishing more interactive engagement to reach ‘online and offline’ people and share the institution’s broad strategy to tackling the pandemic. Also, inviting Civil Society Groups to monitor implementation of funds and interventions can increase credibility. #FollowTheMoney, a social accountability initiative is at the forefront, urging the government to be more responsive to citizens’ request for it to aggregate COVID19 data, and consistently publish information to curtail fake news.
Open the Government’s 2018 research shows that majority of citizens want to see more authenticity and transparency in public institutions. Today, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the Federal Ministry of Health and other government departments and agencies have enormous choices than ever before to reach their target audience, gain traction in their efforts to drive positive change, enhance public awareness and improve public perception of their institutions.
It may not be a total cure; communicating effectively offers a glimmer of hope against the flood of public mistrust. Specifically, web, database, and mobile technologies can allow government to be more transparent, to better engage with stakeholders, and to drive greater awareness of mission impact. In conjunction, transparency and accountability fuelled by strategic communications have the possibility of opening the Nigerian government up to greater public understanding and appreciation.
Imagine a world where the government of a state cannot be held responsible for their actions, a world where due process is absent, a world where laws are not implemented and executed properly. The list goes on, but for us to fully understand the importance and benefits of Public Administration and answer the question “Why Study Public Administration?” you have to define the term.
The word Public Administration is very often used but very difficult to define, this is because the boundaries of the field have never been delimited. According to Hodgson 1969 Public AdministraWhy Study Public Administration? The Golden Question.tion comprises all activities of people or groups in government or their agencies whether these organizations are international, regional or local in their scope; to fulfil the purposes of these government agencies. This definition shows that Public Administration is government in action, it is concerned with the executive, operative and the most obvious part of government which deals with the formulation and enforcement of public policies. Government cannot exist without administrative machineries for implementing public policies.
Now that you have a fair idea of the concept of Public Administration, the question still stands “Why should you study the course?” or “What jobs can you end up having?”, well let me share a quick story; you see Public Administration wasn’t my first choice initially, it wasn’t even part of my top 5 courses (and now you might be thinking so why write this article), I was part of those asking “what does an Administrator do, what jobs can I get after this, why am I studying this course” but by my 200L I was in awe of the course, a course so broad and versatile that gave a detailed insight to so many other courses, I found myself studying Accounting courses, Economics, Social Psychology, Social works, Customer Relations Management, Human Relations and Personnel Management, International Relations and so many others all under Public Administration, already these courses gives you an advantage of having variety of jobs to apply for and also a variety of professional courses to enroll in to add a boost to your CV which you will already have intermediate knowledge of. Amazing right!
Now it’s time for some of the attractive benefits and jobs available to an Administrator
Ability to work/manage people: Implementing programs and managing the people who are involved (Managerial Position)Chance to hold important government positions: Some of the most important government officials followed a career in Public Administration (Cabinet Member, Working with the United Nations, State Governors)
Make an impact on your government: You can do this by holding the power to implement or recommend programs and also having the ability to make direct impact on your local, state and federal government
Chance to hold a position in the news and entertainment field: Political analysts for major news networks often pursued careers in Public Administration which helps them understand the political system and provide analyses of the situations.
Serve as consultants: Many Public Administration professionals can go into consulting and make policy and procedural recommendations for meeting budgets, deadlines, etc.
Specific job titles include: Customs Inspector, Labour Management Relations Specialist, Mediator, Systems Analyst, Civil Servant, Foreign Affairs and International Policy Operations.
To conclude this article I will like to take you back to the beginning and ask once more for you to “imagine a world where the government of a state can’t be held responsible for their actions, a world where due process is absent, a world where laws are not implemented and executed properly”, well a world like that needs an Administrator and that alone shows enough importance to study Public Administration.
An Examination of Girls’ Education Policies in Nigeria with a Focus on the North-East
School girls in Yobe State
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights which was adopted in 1948 provides for access to education as a fundamental human right. Over the years, literacy level which is being influenced by access to quality basic education became an elemental metric in rating countries on human development performance. Historically and globally, boys have had lesser bottlenecks than girls in accessing formal education. Following this, several researches started highlighting the correlation between the enrolment of girls in school and increase in life expectancy and literacy levels; gross domestic product; as well as reductions in maternal and child mortality rates in countries.
This has inspired debates on the enrolment of girls in schools as a large component of human capital investment in any country. Nigeria as a country has been rated as one of the countries with poor statistics in ensuring the education of the girl child. This has been despite several strategies that the country has employed to reverse such trend and counter gender disparity in education. These strategies encompass the 1991 establishment of the National Commission for Mass Literacy and Non-formal Education, 1994 Family Support Basic Education Programme, 1999 Universal Basic Education Policy, 2003 Strategy for the Acceleration of Girls Education in Nigeria and the 2004 Universal Basic Education Act, amongst others. Most of these policies were created in order to achieve the Education For-all goals as well as the Millennium Development Goals.
LAUNCH OF A PAN-AFRICAN CAMPAIGN TO TRACK FUNDINGS FOR ALL COVID19 INTERVENTIONS IN AFRICA
Geared towards advocating for transparency and accountability, Follow The Money; Africa’s leading social accountability initiative, has launched a Pan-African Campaign called theCOVID19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP) to effectively track spending of all COVID-19 Donations in 7 African Countries.
As nations of the world tackle the plague of Coronavirus, with funding for African countries amassing in millions of dollars, it has become expedient to demand accountable spending of the money to block financial leakages, ensure funds do not end up in personal pockets and ultimately advocate for an improved healthcare system in the continent. CTAP is an initiative that seeks to advocate for proper accountability and transparency of funding, interventions and finances targeted at combatingCOVID-19.
Through CTAP, Follow the Money seeks to
Track all donations and contributions by the Government, the InternationalCommunities, Local Organisations, Philanthropists, and supporters.
Ensure judicious use of funds and blocking financial leakages.
Visualize and publicize all expenditures ofCOVID19 as a way to promote transparency.
Advocate for compliance with international best standards and practices and holding government institutions accountable to all stakeholders.
The CTAP believes that response to pandemics should prioritize the participation of the affected communities at all stages, including needs assessments and provision of palliatives procurement and delivery of items, program reviews, and evaluations, etc.
Recall CODE had urged theMinistry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, and the National Centre forDisease Control (NCDC) in Nigeria to aggregate and centralise data on all contributions and donations. This is an important approach to quenching fake news that may be intended to sway citizens against the government.
Follow The Money will pursue accurate dissemination of information to avoid fake news and misinformation. The team across the 7 African countries will mobilize community-driven interventions through a special COVID19 Community ResponseToolkit.
Open contracting approach to regulate and monitor emergency COVID-19 procurement in various countries
Create an online public repository of received funding, sources, amount, area of intervention and other relevant information.
Ensure that emergency procurement have a structured reporting framework for all signed and concluded contracts be made public
Ensure and establish a framework while collaborating with businesses and CSOs to establish real-time procurement monitoring.
In Nigeria (through CODE), Follow The Money is mobilizing over 6000 citizens on its social accountability platform www.ifollowthemoney.org, to advocate strongly for improved health-care facilities for all. It is also building their capacity through an online radio and webinar as well as providing them with tools to monitor, drive conversation to spark actions and advocate for a transparent and inclusive approach, urging government stakeholders to make public all funds released for the fight against COVID-19 and its implementation plans.
Follow The Money team, under Gambia Participates, is building a geolocation technology map for tracking COVID19 cases in the Gambia. The team is tackling government secrecy and researching on all funds and interventions the Government of the Gambia has received in the fight against CoVID19.
In Zimbabwe, the Follow The Money team under the Magamba Network has launched a Coronavirus tracker powered by Open Parly ZW that visualizes data about the pandemic in Zimbabwe. The tracker allows you to use your Google maps to see if you have been in a place where aCOVID 19 patient has been flagged. The data is from the Ministry of Health and is updated daily according to the latest stats. Data is aggregated according to gender, province, and source of transmission (ie. Travel, Local, etc) on cpovidzw.info.
Follow The Money, Liberia under the InspireLiberia Project, is actively tracking funding and participating in the WaterSanitation and Hygiene Intervention (WASH) COVID19 Response; monitoring ands upervising the adherence to health protocols put in place by the Government ofLiberia
Follow the Money, Kenya under the SlumsInformation Development & Resource Center (SIDREC) is engaging in civic education on plans/budgets set to combat COVID19, through the CSO COVID19 rapid response platform (http://CSOCOVID19rapidresponse.discussion.community)social media engagement, via a tweet chat platform called #KeBudgetTalk and also through a community radio station 99.9 Ghetto FM which broadcasts to one of the major slums in Nairobi. FTM Kenya also visualizes COVID19 funds allocation data to encourage citizens to assume an oversight role for public finances.
Follow the Money Malawi has started following up and tracking on money that was disbursed for COVID19 in Zomba, one of Malawi’s districts. The team is mobilizing and training CSOs on tracking funds disbursed, mining data for funds and developing a system where citizens can whistle-blow on misused funds.
In Cameroon, Follow The Money is tracking the proper dissemination of material support in terms of medical supply to practitioners across the country and food supply to marginalized communities during the lockdown. It is also working to visualize COVID19interventions and mobilize citizens to demand accountability from government institutions working to curb the pandemic.
The common challenge these countries face is poor access to information, secrecy in government and poor accountability. Now more than ever, the Follow The Money initiative in these countries are aligning in their mission to hold their respective governments to account, so that all interventions and funds can be put to proper use. The team is mobilizing citizens for social change, countering fake news and misinformation while using digital tools to engage with government accountability issues. We must be alert and seek for government, agencies and institutions to be transparent and provide civil society groups and the media acting as watchdogs in this crucial time with accurate and timely information.
While we commend theInternational Monetary Fund for granting debt relief to 25 African countries,CODE uses this opportunity to also urge the World Bank, the Chinese Government and other international bodies to toe the line of the IMF and grant debt reliefs to other African countries. This relief can position Africa to support itself as it battles COVID19.
I was recently asked how Civil Society Groups could contribute to the COVID-19 efforts. These are my thoughts;
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) can play key roles in monitoring, documenting and reporting multi-sectoral efforts such as ensuring human rights due diligence and equal access to health care; sensitisation (and combating fake news); tracking – accountability and transparency of measures with particular focus on fund donations; humanitarian intervention. They can also follow up with judicious distribution of relief items to low-income communities and marginalised people.
Although the lock-down is a welcome resolve to enhance social distancing, I am of the opinion that it should not have been extended to some or a coalition of Civil Society Groups working around COVID-19, just as members of the Press were given a free pass.
The restriction of CSOs limits them to advocating for digital accountability measures. This is limiting the call for transparency and accountability in the response to COVID19, knowing that public digital responsiveness and accountability is still quite alien to many Nigerian Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Unlike in the USA, Nigeria has no Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) that mandates MDAs to digitally publish all public expenditures.
To compound this, the Freedom of Information Act would not avail anyone during this lockdown as there would be no one in the offices of these MDAs to take delivery or respond to such requests.
My concern is that there may be no neutral party in the field to track human rights due diligence; and transparency and accountability compliance. No third party to ensure all humanitarian interventions/measures comply with the humanitarian principles. Furthermore, CSOs should be involved in the identification, implementation and evaluation of COVID-19 measures and relief disbursement in Nigeria, and also assessing government’s response strategies to the pandemic. The job of many CSOs is akin to the 4th arm of government – the Press. Any undue restriction is fundamentally detrimental to our democratic and civic space.
Indeed, Section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution that empowers the Press and other agencies of the Mass Media to hold the government accountable and uphold constitutional tenets should extend to NGOs.
Those who fail to see reason here may be reminded of the 2012 Flood Relief Fund/Donations which was void of transparency – and flood victims never accessing reliefs mobilised by the government – from private, local and international donors.
The duty of good governance and social justice does not halt in times of crisis. CSOs, same as the Press, are the bulwark of our fickle democracy.
Following the spate of donations and interventions to tackle the current pandemic threatening the Nigerian healthcare system and other aspects of the nation’s wellbeing, leading non-governmental organization, Connected Development (CODE), is holding the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to transparency standards.
According to CODE, trust in Nigerian public institutions has recently been measured by lack of transparency, poor accountability and poor communication. However, the current crisis provides an opportunity for the Nigerian Government to regain citizens’ trust in its fight to end the COVID-19 Pandemic.
While commending donations by well-meaning Nigerians and Organisations, CODE’s Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal, noted that although donations have risen to N44 billion, there is no clarity from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health on proper collation and disbursement.
In a response tweet to Lawal the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, had stated that NNPC and its 30 partners donating about N11 billion “will donate in kind and donors will follow their company procurement processes to deliver on their pledges.” [1] Which partner donated what? How much is cash and how much is in kind? The vagueness of this response makes it impossible to hold either NNPC, its partners or the NCDC to account.
Nigerians must be given comprehensive data of interventions, recipient organisations of this fund and how judiciously they are being expended. [2] Where is the breakdown of the 50% contribution by the 43 Cabinet ministers who pledged half of their March 2020 Salary to support the FG effort to combat the COVID 19 pandemic in the country?[3]
President Muhammadu Buhari had instructed in his COVID-19 speech that “all contributions and donations be coordinated and centralized to ensure efficient and impactful spending.” How is the Presidential Task Force looking to effect this? What measures have the Ministry of Health, the NCDC and the Ministry of Finance put in place to collect, aggregate funds and ensure proper utilization? These are pertinent questions that require timely responses. Now is the time for the government ministries to champion a culture of transparency, consistency and high-quality communications. The Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) must also monitor the fund to ensure all forms of financial leakages are blocked.
CODE will utilize its social accountability platform www.ifollowthemoney.org with over 5300 members and its well structured community mobilization strategy to advocate strongly for improved health-care facilities for all as the nation combats COVID-19. Citizens will be provided online tools to monitor, drive conversation to spark actions and advocate for a transparent and inclusive approach, urging government stakeholders to make public all funds released for the fight against COVID-19 and its implementation plans.
Recall, CODE had severally urged the Federal Government and the Ministry of Health to prioritise the Nation’s healthcare sector, our call for accountability & transparency in the sector was to prepare the country to tackle challenges that a pandemic like#COVID19 presents.
Although we are disturbed that the existing healthcare structure in the nation is not sufficient to combat the pandemic, especially with the prediction that COVID 19 cases in Nigeria may rise to up to 39,000, we are hopeful that the interventions and other non-monetary resources can cushion the gaps and develop Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Our world is currently threatened by COVID-19, with significant implications on health, personal and professional life. Even at that, this period has witnessed a great level of interdependence—that our collective success does not onlydepend on how we care for ourselves but also how we are looking out for other people around us.
Hamzy shows children in rural Adamawa how to wash their hands thoroughly.
In light of what we do at CODE, constantly advocating for public funds to be used for public goods, especially in the areas of education and more importantly healthcare, we most certainly believe that the state of a nation’s healthcare is tantamount to its wellbeing. Our call for accountability and transparency in public services is to prepare our society, our country and our world to tackle challenges that a pandemic of this kind presents.
Today, as the globe deals with COVID-19 and navigate its health, economic and social implications, we at CODE will continue to make proactive decisions to provide marginalised communities with access to information and also to ensure the personal health and safety of our team, our Follow The Money members across Africa, our partners across the globe and you, our friend.
We have taken remote work more seriously and have instituted strict social distancing and stay-at-home policies. Still, we will continue to impact our community and advocate for the government to be more responsible and accountable especially in this dire time. We will also be seeing all our engagements through the lens of COVID-19, structuring our work to tackle financial leakages, mismanagement of funds and advocating for social justice in fragile communities so these people can access clean water, proper healthcare and all-round improved public services.
We commend leaders, organisations, and individuals who are prioritizing our collective health and well-being over individual profit. Our thoughts and best wishes are with them.
Do not hesitate to reach us if you have ideas, resources and information on how we can better reach communities during this time.
Please stay safe.
Hamzat Lawal Chief Executive, CODE Founder, Follow The Money
