When the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the world, BFAD members mobilized their resources, raising just over $1.6 million dollars, serving approximately 1.1 million men, women, and children. Baptist churches and institutions provided medical support, health education, psychosocial services, and food packages to communities under lockdown. This support ranged from COVID education awareness initiatives in Sierra Leone to the provision of WASH and Personal Protective Equipment to people in Lebanon.
When vaccine education was needed, BFAD issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to fund vaccine education and awareness programs. Ten countries were awarded grants. Projects ranged from a Youth empowerment program in Bangladesh, to the development of policies to improve patient safety and mental health resources for hospital staff in Ghana, to a Women Helping Women project in Nepal and the Philippines to spread the word about the importance of vaccines.
The efforts demonstrated that we can still work together, even in the most challenging situations. Not to mention realizing the power of Baptists who together contributed approximately $5.8 million to humanitarian aid and relief efforts during the COVID pandemic.
