COVID-19: HI continues to assist people affected by the epidemic
HI's teams are still working to inform and help people affected by the COVID-19 crisis in many countries around the world.
Food distribution in Bolivia by HI teams during Covid-19 crisis | © HI
The Covid-19 epidemic continues to spread at a rapid rate, with more than 34 million cases confirmed worldwide, and more than 10 million people affected in the countries where HI works. More than one million people have died.
Since March 2020, HI's teams have implemented more than 160 projects to assist people affected by the COVID-19 crisis in the countries where it works, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bolivia, DRC, and Myanmar. These projects focus on healthcare and socio-economic assistance.
"Since March, our teams have been visiting communities to identify the needs of the most vulnerable people, including older and disabled people, and single women with children. We provide them with direct assistance or refer them to other organisations that provide adapted services, such as care for people contaminated by COVID-19. Our work includes distributing hygiene kits, hydroalcoholic gel, and masks, organising risk information sessions on contamination, hygiene measures, etc. We also provide psychosocial support to health staff and people affected by this epidemic and organise rehabilitation sessions for patients who need them. The crisis has had a dramatic socio-economic impact on people in some countries. Our teams also distribute food where necessary and provide financial support so that the most vulnerable families can meet their basic needs for food, access to health care, and the like,"
explains Fanny Mraz, Emergency Operations Manager for HI.
"Today, we are still at the emergency stage, due to the still-alarming situation in several countries, such as India where 6 million people have been contaminated, Colombia, Peru, Bangladesh, Iraq, etc. There have been worrying developments in other countries including Myanmar and Jordan. This epidemic has also had a major impact by generating poverty and food insecurity. According to the joint FAO-WFP report, people in 25 countries are set to face devastating levels of hunger in the coming months due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of acute food insecure people could increase from an estimated 149 million pre-COVID-19 to 270 million before the end of the year,"
adds Fanny Mraz added.
HI's teams are closely monitoring the situation and continuously adapting their activities.
