{"id":65552,"date":"2021-04-28T20:20:09","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T23:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=65552"},"modified":"2021-05-03T11:04:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T14:04:59","slug":"announcement-joint-press-conference-on-hunger-from-covid-19-april-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=65552","title":{"rendered":"Announcement: Joint Press Conference on Hunger from Covid-19, April 29"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [PDF<\/a>]<\/p>\n

COVID-19 IN FAVELAS UNIFIED DASHBOARD AND SUSTAINABLE FAVELA NETWORK\u00a0<\/i><\/b>TO HOLD JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY, APRIL 29<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

\u2018A YEAR OF LOSSES! WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Covid-19 in Favelas Unified Dashboard to realize its fourth press conference this Thursday, April 29, at 2pm (1pm EDT), conjointly with Rio\u2019s Sustainable Favela Network. Fifteen diverse favela leaders will reflect on this critical moment and launch an international campaign for humanitarian\u00a0aid<\/a>\u00a0to save lives from hunger.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here to register.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

April 28, 2021 \u2014 <\/b>Ten months after the launch of the Covid-19 in Favelas Unified Dashboard (www.favela.info<\/a>),\u00a0Rio de Janeiro favela collectives and support organizations continue to denounce the lack of public policies<\/b>\u00a0to combat the coronavirus. This time, the list of concerns has multiplied and is terrifying: the accumulation of deaths in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s favelas due to Covid-19 has aggravated numerous other factors: from food insecurity to school evasion, from mental health, to overloading our community movements, and much more.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss the\u00a0press<\/b>\u00a0conference<\/b>\u00a0\u201cA Year of Losses! What is the Solution?\u201d<\/b>\u00a0which will bring together\u00a015 critical and urgent mini-talks by favela leaders\u00a0<\/b>engaged in the Covid-19 in Favelas Unified Dashboard and Rio\u2019s Sustainable Favela Network, representing favelas across the Rio metropolitan region.\u00a0Themes discussed include the losses of this past year,<\/b>\u00a0beyond the massacre imposed by state neglect: food insecurity and the reemergence of hunger; difficulty accessing health care, testing and vaccines; return of police operations; impacts of school evasion; mental health; and domestic violence.<\/p>\n

The fourth press conference will take place on\u00a0Thursday, April 29<\/b>. At the event, 22 collectives that make up the Dashboard and 27 other organizations that realize the campaign for\u00a0\u201cVaccines for Favelas, Now!\u201d<\/a>\u00a0will\u00a0denounce hunger and demand urgent policies to combat coronavirus in favelas<\/b>. We will\u00a0describe possible solutions:<\/b>\u00a0the return of emergency aid, anti-hunger campaigns, and prioritized vaccine access in favelas.<\/p>\n

The Unified Dashboard, over time, has accessed new data sources, increasingly showing the reach and impact of Covid-19 in favelas,\u00a0and today registers 44,799 cumulative cases and 4,379 favela deaths across the metropolitan region,<\/b>\u00a0with 39,961 cases and 3,457 deaths within the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. As of today, the Dashboard\u00a0covers official data for 66% of favela households in Rio.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Joining the Unified Dashboard for this press conference is the\u00a0Sustainable Favela Network (SFN)<\/b>, a community-based network integrating\u00a0hundreds of socio-environmental initiatives in the favelas<\/b>\u00a0of Greater Rio, from community gardens and decentralized sustainable sewage systems to museums and solar energy projects. However, since\u00a0the beginning of the pandemic<\/b>,\u00a0all the<\/b>\u00a0SFN\u2019s<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0member projects have pivoted to address<\/b>\u00a0demands for prevention and response to\u00a0Covid-19 in their territories<\/b>.<\/p>\n

More deaths have occurred in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s favelas than in 164 entire countries<\/b>. The Covid-19 in Favelas Unified Dashboard is realized through a\u00a0highly participatory methodology<\/b>\u00a0that, given the current lack of mass testing in most communities, recognizes that data collected through a qualified local base are most accurate. Based on local sources, the Dashboard began building its database in July 2020 and has since added new sources each week. More recently, we incorporated a Zone of Influence by Post Codes (CEPs) methodology, identifying post codes that best reflect each favela, starting with the most populous ones. Thus, using CEP data,\u00a0we have so far managed to cover 268 favelas<\/b>, six of them in neighboring municipalities, in particular Itagua\u00ed.<\/p>\n

At the April 29 press conference<\/b>\u00a0held\u00a0ten months after the Dashboard\u2019s launch<\/b>, we will present\u00a0new concerning data<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0hear from favela leaders<\/b>\u00a0describing the reality of this critical moment in the pandemic \u2014 and giving voice to their demands. There will also be the\u00a0launch of an\u00a0<\/b>international campaign<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for food donations<\/b>\u00a0and the dissemination of a\u00a0complete list of community campaigns<\/a>\u00a0for basic food baskets.<\/p>\n

Agenda for Joint Press Conference of the Unified Dashboard and SFN:
\n(Rio de Janeiro time,\u00a0subtract one hour for EDT<\/i><\/b>)<\/h3>\n