About the Fund
CVSS partnered with the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) and United Way of Jamaica (UWJ) to establish the PSOJ COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund as a national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica. The Fund was aimed at meeting the needs of citizens and mitigating the threats associated with the pandemic by distributing aid to areas that needed it the most.
As Jamaica’s umbrella organization for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in social development, CVSS has had a long history of stepping forward during times of national crisis to bring together voluntary social service organizations in order to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in our society. It is with this in mind, we were able to utilize our network of members to allocate and distribute aid to vulnerable groups that were most affected by the pandemic.
Aid Allocation & Distribution
Focusing primarily on relief gaps which were unable to be filled by government, we distributed aid to the individuals fighting this disease on the frontline and those residing in communities which were most impacted. The funds were used to finance two key areas of need – Food security and Health services along with a miscellaneous aspect to cover unforeseen funding needs. A number of CVSS board members and Mona GeoInformatics played active roles on the Fund’s multi-sectoral Allocation Committee to determine how the funds are allocated based on the greatest identified need as put forward by its diverse set of members and the communities they serve. A significant portion of all funds were disbursed through registered charities (including, but not limited to, several CVSS member agencies) who provided relief services or, as it relates to health sector goods (e.g. special equipment/gear), through direct procurement.
