Webinar: COVID, conflict and crises: what’s in store for 2021?

To mark 2020’s International Day of Peace, International Alert hosted a webinar with some of our peacebuilding leaders to discuss the intersection between the response to COVID-19 and conflict.

Watch the webinar here

Nearly one year into the new reality that is COVID-19, it is clear that its consequences, in health terms but also politically and economically, will be both far reaching and prolonged.

In many ways the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be realised, but in fragile and conflict-affected states its effects have been felt more rapidly.

COVID-19 has played a particular role in amplifying conflict drivers related to security forces, stigmatisation and marginalisation of minority groups, and governance failures, and exposed the chasm of trust between citizens and their states in many contexts.

In practical terms, it has also presented significant challenges to peacebuilding organisations and their local partners who rely on human interaction as a key vehicle for resolving conflict and promoting peace.

So what does the future hold?

This webinar explored what we can expect on the COVID-19 and conflict front in the coming 12 months.

We ‘looked back to look forward’, sharing the experiences of how our Philippines team has collaborated with existing networks and forged new partnerships in conjunction with conflict monitoring data to help shape government approaches to the pandemic.

We heard how our Great Lakes team is applying lessons learned from the Ebola response to improve information systems to counter rumours, to rebuild trust between communities and health service providers, and improve the conflict sensitivity of responses.

The webinar also offered up a broader global perspective on evolving dynamics.


Panel

Cindy Chungong

Cindy Chungong – Africa Regional Director, International Alert

Nikki de la Rosa – Philippines Country Manager, International Alert

Mike Young

Mike Young – CEO, International Alert

Wale Osofisan

Wale Osofisan, PhD – Senior Director Governance Technical Unit, International Rescue Committee (Chair)