John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) a grant to promote access of vaccines for marginalized groups in northern regions in Nigeria.
The grant is part of the roughly $80 million in awards MacArthur Foundation announced yesterday in support of the foundation’s Equitable Recovery initiative, centered on advancing racial and ethnic justice which is funded by its social bonds, issued in response to the crises of the pandemic and racial inequity.
Announcing the grant, the foundation’s President, John Palfrey said ‘as we emerge from this moment of crisis, we have an opportunity to improve the critical systems that people and places need to thrive. Our systems and structures must be rebuilt.
‘We are committed to ensuring that our response to the pandemic is focused on supporting the reimagining of systems that create a more just, equitable, and resilient world.’
The $80 million grant reflect MacArthur Foundation’s global reach: 45 percent of the new funding supports work outside of the U.S., including 12 percent in India, and 14 percent in Nigeria, where it has offices.
It is meant ‘to advance Public Health Equity and COVID-19 Mitigation and Recovery supports improving access to resources for immediate health challenges while advancing new policies, models, and structures to support a more equitable and resilient public health sector in the future, MacArthur is supporting work in that focus, as well as three other areas:
• Racial Justice Field Support, with a focus on combatting anti-Blackness, supports building Black power by supporting Black-led and -focused philanthropic organizations. MacArthur also will take a leadership role in positioning reparations and racial healing as issues that philanthropy helps to meaningfully address.
• Self-determination of Indigenous Peoples supports uplifting Indigenous communities to enable autonomous pursuit of a recovery guided by their priorities, cultures, and practices.
• An Equitable Housing Demonstration Project supports restoring communities and reducing incarceration and housing instability by generating an array of housing solutions that can help to permanently end the use of jails and prisons as housing of last resort.’
Almost two-thirds of the awards represent new grantee relationships and most of the organizations are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led or -serving.
CITAD is one of the organizations receiving grants advancing the Public Health Equity and COVID-19 Mitigation and Recovery focus area of the foundation’s initiative.
In the fall of 2020, MacArthur established a $125 million Equitable Recovery Initiative.
The Foundation deployed $40 million of bond proceeds through 24 grants. Initial grants focused on strengthening voter mobilization and election protection, addressing anti-Black racism, and supporting Native Americans impacted by COVID-19.
The grants also supported Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous arts organizations in Chicago, technology and justice, and a fund for social entrepreneurs advancing racial equity.
