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FOCUS ON COVID-19
SACCOS in AFRICA
and LATIN AMERICA
serve as TRUSTED SOURCES DURING
COVID-19 pandemic
SACCO around the world serve over 274 million
members. Together with their members' households
they touch close to one billion lives. Furthermore, in
the midst of a crisis such as a natural disaster or the global
pandemic the world is currently experiencing, they are a
trusted source of information.
Health experts say that during a health crisis with rapidly
changing information, the key is daily communication from
a trusted source. Credit unions and co-operatives are those
trusted sources in many communities and have existing
channels of information that can be mobilized.
Credit unions can help correct misinformation and affirm
key messages about preventive strategies to keep people
healthy and safe. And due to the co-operative spirit, they
can be key in inspiring whole communities to move beyond
denial and start adopting a new normal of safe behaviours,
such as social distancing and hygiene.
This does not mean in any way that credit unions should
create their own health messages. Rather, in all cases,
credit unions should rely on the World Health Organization
(WHO) or a credible national resource for messaging, and
they should ensure their messages are in sync with Ministry
of Health directives. Where there is a local USAID Mission,
national credit union associations can alert their Mission
that they are available to help.
Of course, the first step for national associations is to
ensure their staffs are protected and well informed about
good public health practices. The next step is to set up their
channels of communication (from national associations to
credit unions to members) through text messaging or other
means.
Here are some examples of WOCCU partners in the USAID
CDP TIFI Project that are doing their part to facilitate social From the United States to Latin America to Africa, credit
distancing, and going above and beyond to protect people:
• In Guatemala, as of March 17, FENACOAC suspended
all activities in the offices and sent all staff to work
remotely.
• In Kenya, KUSCCO Group Managing Director Mr George
Ototo sent a letter to all member SACCOs (credit
unions) with recommendations about promoting good
hygiene, such as handwashing, increased cleaning and
disinfecting, avoiding contact with objects and surfaces,
social distancing, enabling remote work by employees
and promoting safe food handling.
• On March 17, Felix Ochieng, CEO of Kenya's Siraji SACCO,
sent a letter to all of his customers and members,
encouraging them to use mobile banking or ATMs and, if
they are not yet registered on mobile platforms, to sign
up immediately. He announced that loan applications
will be discussed by phone only, and that some branch
offices are now closed, while others will operate with
minimal staff. The letter notes that Siraji SACCO has
“taken the above measures to protect our members,
customers’ families and the general public.”
• In Burkina Faso, CIF (the confederation serving the
national associations of credit unions in Burkina Faso,
Senegal, Togo, Mali and Benin) is closely monitoring the
pandemic and undertaking hygiene measures requiring
behavior change and budgetary implications. CIF is
considering solutions in the event of a containment
decision, such as facilitating remote work through high-
speed Internet.
• One of CIF’s member national associations, PAMECAS in
Senegal, established a committee to prepare the staff
and member credit unions for the pandemic. One of
the steps taken by the committee this week focused
on working with credit unions in Dakar to ensure they
have enough hand sanitizer for members and staff, and
instituting safe distancing when conducting transactions
to mitigate human contact as much as possible. The CEO
of PAMECAS also sent a letter out to credit unions in
Senegal promoting public health.
unions are at the center of a global response for their
members during this pandemic.
The article was ?rst published by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU)
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