COVID-19 Enabling Fund summary
Updated 24 June 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-development-assistance-oda-fcdo-international-programme-spend-objectives-2020-to-2021/covid-19-enabling-fund-summary
1. Overview
Enabling funds are small amounts of discretionary funding allocated to posts/directorates within the International Programme to enable the delivery of policy outcomes through small-scale, one-off or exploratory activities below the level of a full project. They are designed to be agile, to help Posts respond quickly to changing events, and make the most of any opportunities across the FCDO’s work.
In 2020/21 Enabling Funding was reprioritised to support HMG’s response to COVID-19. £10 million was allocated to fund programmes to support COVID-19-related activities and objectives including to:
- secure a strong and co-ordinated global health response, particularly for the most vulnerable countries
- accelerate the search for a vaccine and new treatments
- support the global economy, keeping trade open and securing critical supply chains
- keep transport routes and transit hubs open, to support the flow of freight, aid, medical supplies, and to bring our people home
This was a combination of ODA and non-ODA funding, with ODA eligible Posts receiving the allocation as ODA.
2. Official Development Assistance (ODA) and COVID-19
Posts were expected to be able to use the ODA Enabling Fund funding to react rapidly, effectively and creatively to help react to the impact of COVID-19 in their countries. It was intended to enable Heads of Mission (HOMs) to respond to partners’ requests for support.
3. COVID-19 response using Enabling Funding
Examples of activity funded by the Enabling Fund:
A project in Nigeria helping Partnership for Justice, which operates 2 sexual assault referral centres in Lagos and Sokoto State, adapt to ensure safe and continued support to Sexual Assault Survivors, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
A project in Turkey to strengthen efforts to substantiate the resilience of vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic through capacity building for a more comprehensive public health response particularly focused for and with women on a low income.
A project in Brazil to monitor the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the complex of favelas in Complexo de Maré (Rio de Janeiro), with intensive use of data and digital technologies. In addition to monitoring, the project presented a series of recommendations for reducing the impacts of the health crisis with the possibility for replication in other favelas.
4. COVID-19 allocation for financial year (FY) 2020 to 2021
The COVID-19 response had an opening allocation of £10 million for FY 2020 to 2021.