The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled existing volatile situations around the world by putting additional stress on fragile healthcare, political, and economic systems.

As the international community is urgently responding to these conditions peacebuilders have been challenged while trying to mitigate the threats arising in their local communities.

Peacebuilding efforts will also be said to have suffered a huge set back especially at grassroots level

The pandemic has deepened and magnified issues in peace and security agendas as government have now been saddled with an upheaval task trying to address most of this issues.

Much attention has been drawn to the increasing plight some communities most especially the fact that most of them are not easily accessible as such the difficulty to even reach them and sensitize them on set guidelines and even build their confidence

 

 

One area where peacebuilding helps during such a pandemic is in providing access to information on healthcare, humanitarian aid, and social services.

The pandemic is highlighting the barriers that exist for marginalized groups— most especially within local communities —to access such information, and since peacebuilders are on the ground identifying and often experiencing these barriers, they have directed their energies to helping local populations protect themselves.

It is especially important that this information is being provided to communities since they often have the majority of informal healthcare.

 

Giving this significant role peacebuilding plays during such a pandemic

We must strengthen its role in the multi-sectoral response and grapple with new ways of working in unprecedented and protracted crisis settings.

identifying the need for continued advocacy around technological access for marginalised communities.

 

The urgency of alternative avenues of mental health support for practitioners and beneficiaries were identified by several respondents as the health impacts of the pandemic increasingly extend beyond the physical in a socially distanced environment.

 

So in talking about the ways in which the pandemic has magnified the structural inequalities and injustices driving violence and unrest in fragile contexts.

There must be certain structures set to ensure that despite the health crises, peace is not to be toyed with.

 

Let realize that any break in law and order potential puts more persons at risk. This is a known fact because sometimes it leads to mass assemblage of persons who now throw all caution away. Protest happens with uncontrolled crowds and persons without any precaution whatsoever.

During the Pandemic in order for us to foster peace, awareness must be transformed into increased resources and support for local peacebuilding efforts to address the structural drivers of conflict, drawing upon their contextual knowledge of conflict dynamics and their strong presence and networks in isolated and conflict-affected areas.

 

Opportunities include:

Information

Media

Social Media

Religious Organization

NGOs

Programs