Humanitarian Mobilisation in Response to Covid-19 Continues

Humanitarian organizations have continued mobilized to reach people most in need, both with specific Covid-19 assistance but also to continue their life-saving work for some 117 million women, men and children caught in conflict, poverty and climate-related emergencies. Covid-19 is present in virtually every country in the world, has killed nearly 150,000 people worldwide and there are more than 2.2 million confirmed cases. The response to Covid-19 has been wide and deep. From building global supply chains and air bridges to delivering masks and medical equipment to communicating life-saving health messages from loudspeakers mounted on cars and bicycles, aid groups large and small are supporting the world’s most vulnerable people in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Humanitarian actors are installing hand washing stations, delivering clean drinking water and food, launching public information campaigns, and ensuring that aid supplies and personnel continue reaching the most vulnerable communities. These essential steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic are all happening while the humanitarian system continues to respond to pre-existing humanitarian crises.

Lockdowns, curfews and restrictions on movements of personnel and cargo – part of the strategy to suppress further transmissions – are challenging humanitarian response. But as the world confronts this pandemic, humanitarian workers are determined to continue their important work.  Humanitarian actors are doing an enormous amount under extremely difficult circumstances. Donors are rightly funding this work, doing the correct and smart thing by helping to prevent Covid-19 from affecting even more communities.

The World Health Organisation has organized over 130 shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) and laboratory supplies have been shipped across the world by WHO. In April, health supplies were delivered to Afghanistan, Iraq, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mongolia, Nicaragua, South Sudan, Suriname, and Syria.

CARE International has reached over 2 million people worldwide with hygiene messages, delivered hygiene kits for more than 350,000 people, and set up or repaired nearly 23,000 handwashing stations. In Somalia, CARE works with mobile network provides to deliver Covid-19 messages to more than 270,000 families to help mitigate risks.  In Haiti, in addition to radio campaigns, people in cars and on bicycles with loudspeakers are used to spread health messages.

Save the Children continues to respond to the needs of communities in countries impacted by Covid-19 outbreaks, including in China, to help keep them and their families safe.

The Norwegian Refugee Council is distributing information on the prevention of coronavirus and providing hygiene kits, clean water and adequate toilets in Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and across Latin America and Africa. In the huge Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, NRC is installing handwashing points and ensuring running water.

In Myanmar, Oxfam is scaling up humanitarian assistance in over 100 displacement camps in Kachin and Rakhine states. In Syria, the agency is helping provide clean water in the most at-risk communities and supporting health facilities by pre-positioning hygiene and infection control materials [can we specific what?] in Iraq. In Mozambique, still recovering from Cyclone Idai, Oxfam and partners are working to combat misinformation about COVID-19 while in Gaza, the agency is providing 100 beds to quarantine centres and health supplies for 750 medical staff working in NGO medical centres.

UNHCR has launched information campaigns across its operations to give refugees access to factual information on prevention measures, and distributed shelter material and cash assistance in some locations. In Bangladesh, training has begun for over 2,000 health staff in camps hosting some 850,000 refugees and in Jordan, temperature screening is conducted at the entrance of the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps. In Gambella refugee camp in Ethiopia, thousands of handwashing stations have been established. In Sudan, over 320,000 refugees, internally displaced persons and host communities have received soap and other hygiene items.

UNICEF has shipped more than 4 million gloves, half a million surgical masks, 100,000 N95 respirators, 156,000 gowns and 13,000 goggles to support vulnerable countries. The agency has also shipped oxygen concentrators, basic surgery equipment, stethoscopes, medication and nutrition to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Iran and Venezuela, UNICEF has delivered PPE to hospitals and health workers, and in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a 50-bed Covid-19 isolation and treatment unit is operational with the agency’s support.

UNFPA is working with governments and partners to prioritize the particular needs of women and girls as the pandemic is not only disrupting access to life-saving health services but also increasing the risk of gender-based violence. UNFPA is helping to procure and deliver essential supplies to protect health workers, provide service to survivors of gender-based violence and promote risk communication in communities.

Humanitarian Advisors congratulate all organisations on these efforts and encourages continued focus on Covid-19 initiatives whilst continuing and further strengthening existing humanitarian and development programs.  Similarly, Humanitarian Advisors welcomes recent pledges by donors who are supporting Covid-19 initiatives and keenly encourages donors to continue and increase existing humanitarian and developing programs around the world.