Fabrice Vandeputte, Humanity & Inclusion's director in Myanmar, explains how our teams are helping the most vulnerable individuals protect themselves from the coronavirus.
"Myanmar has been affected by COVID-19 for several weeks. The situation is worrying. Since testing capacity is low, there is no way of knowing how far it's spread. We think that the number of cases is much higher than reported and we're particularly worried about the most vulnerable people.
We work primarily with people who have fled conflict and live in camps for internally displaced people, in the north of the country. They have very few resources. Sometimes eight people live in a room roughly four square meters. They still do not have access to running water, soap, etc. Not everyone uses social media, and they don’t know enough about the threat from the epidemic. COVID-19 could affect them more quickly as a result, and the consequences could be serious.
Mask & sanitizer distributions
We have adjusted our work to the epidemic. We have distributed masks and hand sanitizer gel to the people we assist, so they can wash their hands and protect themselves.
Providing phones and virtual rehabilitation
Humanity & Inclusion's physical therapists are filming their rehabilitation sessions and our volunteers are providing beneficiaries with phones, so that they can view the physical therapy sessions and stay in touch with our team.
Ambulance services
We are working with three hospitals, mainly in Yangon, and with quarantine centers to assist emergency teams. We sort patients, distribute ventilators to intensive care units, and hand out an acetaminophen. We also work with ambulance services to ensure they know the disinfection protocol, so they won't be contaminated when they transport patients."
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