NGO SECTOR AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector is needed now more than ever, and concerted efforts must be made to ensure that the future of entities operating in that sector do not become another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NGO Management Specialist, Shelley Weir says that the pandemic has shown just how vulnerable the sector in this country is, and she is concerned that unless steps are taken to get the sector on sound footing, all the good work they do in respect of health care and assisting vulnerable and at risk groups, will be for naught.
“The NGO Sector in Barbados is not well organised; it is not well organised nor recognised. The evidence I would use to support that statement, is the response to COVID, where you had so many people, which was absolutely necessary, jumping in to lend assistance, but not in a systematic way. If the role of NGOs was truly appreciated and respected, some of the funding and assistance could have been filtered through existing NGOs, rather than people thinking they had to set up their own thing and operate in their own corner in order to satisfy needs,” she said in an interview with The Barbados Advocate.
She said while some NGOs were perhaps called on to help identify the needs of those they represent or advocate for, this was not a common trend across the sector and likely resulted in a duplication of effort, which she is certain resulted in some people falling through the cracks.
“NGOs represent the vulnerable in society and straight away you would have had a quick assessment of those who would really need assistance. But having not drawn on their expertise as should have been the case, my concern has been whether or not one person got assistance several times, and other people who really needed it never got any,” she stated.
Coronavirus is a highly contagious respiratory infection. Persons who are immunosuppressed may get severe lung complications.