Since 2013, Venezuela has experienced its worst economic, political, and social crisis in 45 years. This has limited access to health care, sanitary facilities and food, and significantly increased humanitarian needs. At least 4.7 million Venezuelans have fled to countries around the world, including 1.8 million to Colombia and 1 million to Peru. Many have also taken refuge in Ecuador and Brazil. Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are providing emergency assistance to the most vulnerable individuals.

Psychological support and rehabilitation

Since April 2019, Humanity & Inclusion has been providing psychological support to nearly 4,000 people in the Maicao transit center in Colombia which is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the border with Venezuela.

Humanity & Inclusion, in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Pastoral Social (Caritas Colombia), provides rehabilitation care for 400 people, including people with disabilities, older people and indigenous groups. In addition, we provide technical support, such as training to local rehabilitation organizations, and help organize social cohesion activities, including sports, for Colombians and Venezuelans in order to promote peaceful understanding between communities.

COVID-19 in Colombia

During the COVID-19 crisis, Humanity & Inclusion’s teams have continued to carry out some activities in the Maicao centre. Our psychologists have organized remote psychological support and rehabilitation sessions via videos and WhatsApp. We've also provided families with information on how to protect themselves from the pandemic.

Essential support in Medellín

Humanity & Inclusion is supporting more than 2,000 Venezuelans in Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia, in conjunction with Medellín city council. Our teams provide them with psychological support by organizing one-to-one and group sessions, and help them complete legal formalities to access basic services such as health care. We also organize sports and cultural activities to strengthen the social cohesion and social and cultural inclusion of Venezuelans in Medellín. Our teams run similar activities in Bogota and Barranquilla on the Atlantic coast.

Training other organizations to ensure inclusion for all

In Colombia, we’re training 30 members from other national organizations to help ensure that they take into account the needs of the most vulnerable individuals when implementing their own projects. In May 2020, following an assessment of the humanitarian aid needs of Venezuelan refugees in Peru, we launched inclusive trainings for organizations located in the country, so they too can ensure their response is inclusive for all.   

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda by distributing awareness-raising messages, handing out masks and food, providing online therapy sessions, and adapting online educational courses for students, particularly for those with disabilities.

Prevention and awareness

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on people living in Rwanda, where Humanity & Inclusion has worked since 1994.

Our teams have adapted activities where we operate, including refugee camps in the eastern province of Nyabiheke. We’re distributing awareness-raising messages on the risks of the virus and its transmission among refugees. In addition, we’re sharing information about how to protect oneself by washing hands, staying at home, and refraining from touching the face. Our teams are also distributing water basins, soap, and other hygiene items.  

Distribution of food

Humanity & Inclusion is distributing bags of flour to parents of children with disabilities in the Mahama refugee camp in Eastern Province to help prevent malnutrition. We also handed out food and protective masks to more than 330 families of people with epilepsy in Rubavu district.

Online therapy sessions

Our teams of psychologists have been conducting online counseling sessions which help provide psychological support to the many individuals who are affected by the lockdown.

Inclusive education at home

Schools in Rwanda have been closed since March 16, and will not reopen until September. Humanity & Inclusion’s inclusive education team is helping to promote access to school for children with disabilities by having school lessons broadcast on television, complete with sign language interpreters. We’re also supplying printed learning aids in Braille and in large print, so that students with visual disabilities can access materials. In addition, we developed lessons that are adapted to the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. These lessons are then broadcast on the radio and television.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also had an impact on people living in Rwanda, where Humanity & Inclusion has worked since 1994. Our teams have adapted activities where we operate. In the district of Rutsiro, we're distributing food so that families have enough to eat during the lockdown. We’re also providing other supplies to help individuals protect themselves and their families from the coronavirus.

Humanity & Inclusion has also distributed bags of flour to parents of children with disabilities in the Mahama refugee camp in Eastern Province to help prevent malnutrition and to strengthen their immune systems.

At the end of May, we also provided food and protective masks to more than 330 families of people with epilepsy in the Rubavu district.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

This story originally appeared on Global Campaign for Education

The unprecedented impact of the COVID -19 pandemic across the world is well documented, including its negative effect on education systems, learners, and communities. But marginalized groups, such as children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable if there are prolonged school closures, and when schools reopen.

Children with disabilities face increased risks, as they are likely to be more affected (1) by reduced access to prevention and support measures. School closures also lead to disruptions in daily routines which can be particularly difficult for many children with developmental disabilities and cause significant pressure on their families and caregivers, who require additional support. (2)

Schools closures, impacting over half of the world’s population of school children, not only disrupt learning, but also access to food programs, social support, personal assistance or medical care, which are often available through schools. Without the protective and social environment of schools and the services associated with it, children are more exposed to violence and vulnerability. And this has the potential to be for a prolonged period of time especially in areas where it will be harder to control the spread of the disease. (3)

In the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, the closure of temporary learning centres means that many children will not be receiving critical daily healthy meals. Some school systems have set up takeaway meals; others are advocating for cash transfers or voucher systems that would allow families to purchase food normally provided by schools. (4)

Girls and boys with disabilities often live in some of the poorest families, face discrimination in their communities and are not prioritised in terms of education. The risk of exclusion is even higher in this time of crisis. Children with disabilities are also more likely to drop out of school than their peers – and there is a real risk that those who leave school now may not return in the long-term. (5)

Alongside other actors, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) and its partners are supporting national and local authorities to ensure that children with disabilities are prioritised in public initiatives to target the most marginalised groups. For example, it is crucial that any education cluster contingency plans promote active learning solutions and are inclusive, child-friendly, and accessible for all children.

Most countries, including low and middle income countries (i.e. Rwanda, Malawi and Somalia) (6), are trying to put in place home schooling options, either through online alternatives, sending work home to the children via schools, or by radio or television transmission, internet platforms or a mixture of these approaches. For example, in Rwanda, HI are supporting the government to make sure that scripts and lessons for television programmes are developed in an inclusive way, following inclusive education principles, and ensuring that sign language interpreters are also part of the broadcasts.

While considering alternative provision to education during this pandemic, reasonable accommodations and accessibility measures should be provided, to support the individual needs of children with disabilities. For example, children who are deaf should be able to access the same information as is provided on a radio broadcast such as access to written materials, or video options with sign language.

There are also a number of open source distance learning options that are possible to use offline such as Kolibri, which provides access to an openly licensed educational content library.  Kolibri is compatible to be used with software such as screen readers, to support learners who are blind for example. UNESCO’s compilation of specific distance learning solutions gives a range of options, and there is also a wealth of useful resources at INEE , including some specific recommendations about distance learning for children with disabilities.

Children with intellectual disabilities must also be considered, by ensuring that the content of the lessons is appropriate for them, delivered at a speed they can understand and follow, and their learning should be supported as much as possible (7).

When schools were closed during the Ebola outbreak in 2015, in Sierra Leone, HI was involved in supporting radio lessons by mobilising community-based rehabilitation volunteers to support learners   with intellectual disabilities in small groups. Such close proximity between groups of individuals is difficult in many countries at present, but in the post- acute phase, this kind of approach could be helpful to allow learners to understand content better. At the moment, individual support to the most vulnerable families, is being provided, to help with home-based learning.

SDG 4 sets the commitment to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, including persons with disabilities. The global review of SDG 4, in 2019, showed that the world is not at all on track to deliver on its education commitments by 2030. The call to focus on equity must now be prioritised for targets to be met. At least 50% of children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries were already out of school before the pandemic. (8)  The COVID-19 crisis is negatively affecting the schooling of all children and young people, especially vulnerable groups, thus jeopardizing the SDG 4 promise even more than before.

The unprecedented scope and gravity of this crisis calls for international solidarity and a coordinated and ambitious response at global level. Civil society organisations, teachers, learners and families should now join together to call for quality and inclusive education both during and beyond this crisis. HI has joined wider education advocacy on COVID 19, at national and global levels (for example, via a national coalition in Uganda (9) and within the Global Campaign for Education and global partners). It is essential to mobilise adequate political will, technical resources, and funding to support accessible forms of distance learning, investment in teacher training and sufficient funds for innovative, accessible technology.

Funding for inclusive education is needed now, more than ever before.

Written by:

Valentina works as an advocacy officer at Humanity & Inclusion (HI), focusing on the topics of inclusive education and rehabilitation in health systems. Prior to joining HI, she worked in the fields of advocacy and project management for different NGOs and networks (including Youth for Understanding, Tostan, and the International Diabetes Federation), both in Europe and overseas. She has academic background in human rights and international development.

Julia is a Global Inclusive Education Specialist and Team Leader for Education projects, at Humanity & Inclusion.  She is a co –chair of the Inclusive Education Task group in the International Disability and Development Consortium, and an active member of the Global Campaign for Education UK. She has 18 years’ professional experience including overseas experience in the education development sector, working in Nigeria and Uganda as a teacher trainer and lecturer with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), supporting the development of inclusive schools and previously working as a speech and language therapist in education settings.  She has an academic background in International development with a focus on disability and Inclusive Education.

1. INEE, UNICEF, Save the Children, Plan International, Humanity & Inclusion, Finnish Church Aid, ‘Learning must go on: Recommendations for keeping children safe and learning, during and after the COVID-19 crisis’, April 2020.
2. UNESCO, How is the Coronavirus affecting learners with disabilities?
3. UNESCO, Coronavirus School Closures
4. Kolibri
5. UNESCO
6. INEE
7. IDDC, ‘IDDC Inclusive Education Task Group response to COVID-19’, 6^th April 2020.
8. Education Commission, ‘The Learning Generation Report : Investing in education for a changing world’, 2016.
9. AWYAD, AVSI, Catholic Relief Services, Finn Church Aid, Humanity & Inclusion, International Rescue Committee, Jesuit Refugee Service, Norwegian Refugee Council, PALMCorps, Plan International, Save the Children, Street Child, Tutapona, War Child Holland, Windle International Uganda, ZOA, ‘COVID-19 response in Uganda: Keep children learning and safe while schools are closed’, 27th March 2020.

Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world that is already confronted by one of the worst humanitarian crises. On top of everything else, the country now faces the threat of COVID-19. Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are working to ensure people with disabilities and vulnerable individuals who are at risk of exclusion are included in the crisis response.

“CAR is already experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis,” explains Perrine Benoist, Humanity & Inclusion’s operations officer in CAR. “The country has been racked by civil war for seven years. More than a quarter of the population was displaced by violence in 2013. The east of the country is currently the worst affected. Various highly active armed groups continue to hold sway. This regularly displaces people, which could worsen the pandemic.”

“The civil war is gradually chipping away at local support networks. This is really worrying because many people are highly vulnerable to the new humanitarian crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The people assisted by our teams—displaced, older or isolated people, people with disabilities or individuals with chronic illnesses, some of whom do not speak the country’s majority languages, and the poorest people who live in dire conditions—are among the most vulnerable.”

Against this background, our teams are working to improve awareness messages and the need for community involvement. We’re working harder than ever to ensure the most vulnerable are prepared and know how to protect themselves. We’re also providing support to local actors, authorities and organizations, to help build their capacity to monitor and prevent infections. This is done in coordination with the national crisis unit.

Humanitarian assistance for all

“During a conflict or mass displacement, people with disabilities are often left behind and forgotten in needs assessments or aid planning. The threat of the COVID-19 pandemic in CAR, added to the existing humanitarian crisis, means they face even more obstacles than usual. Long distances, an environment that makes travel difficult and poor access to information can, for example, prevent them from accessing food distribution points or hygiene kits,” Benoist adds. 

In a situation made worse by COVID-19, people with disabilities, particularly the most dependent who have a sensory or intellectual impairment or who require regular care, a lack of information, difficulties accessing services and added stigma, can lead to communities to stop taking care of them. This can prove fatal. A study by Humanity & Inclusion in CAR revealed that 43% of people with disabilities face discrimination when accessing care and social services and humanitarian aid.

However, people with disabilities are not the only ones to face this problem. Many other groups risk exclusion, including older people and displaced people, many of them destitute, and the chronically ill. As a result, we work at multiple levels, taking a highly integrated approach to raise the awareness of other actors to help ensure the most vulnerable individuals are systematically included in all assistance services, including emergency response.

Inclusive messages and actions

Humanity & Inclusion’s COVID-19 awareness-raising and prevention actions are designed to ensure that no one is left behind. We adapt our messages to each vulnerable group—people over the age of 60, members of Organizations for People with Disabilities (OPDs or DPOs)—so they pass on these messages to their own networks in turn. HI visits people’s homes to raise awareness of hygiene and basic personal precautionary measures that help prevent the spread of the virus. They also train community representatives, members of young people’s organizations, women and people with disabilities to teach basic precautionary measures and best practices to members of their networks.

Logistical support

Our logistics teams transport humanitarian aid at no cost and uses this opportunity to make road haulers aware of basic precautionary measures as they frequently pick up supplies in Cameroon—a country which is greatly affected by the virus.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 27, we count 171 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are concerned about COVID-19 spreading in overcrowded camps for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which have a population density of 40,000 people per sq. km. It is incredibly difficult to social distance under these conditions, and the situation could deteriorate quickly.

Due to the coronavirus, humanitarian organizations are much less active in the camps. Humanity & Inclusion has adapted its work in order to assist the most vulnerable individuals—people with disabilities, older people, and isolated women and children.

We’ve continued organizing rehabilitation sessions and providing psychological support to people living in the camps in compliance with safety guidelines, such as wearing masks and social distancing. We’re also providing refugees with awareness messaging on the virus.

Combating rumors 

Some people in the camps believe that prayer or a special herbal tea can help protect them from the virus. Others fear that they will be captured or killed if catch the illness. Humanity & Inclusion’s teams provide them with information on COVID-19 and help raise their awareness on the pandemic in order to better protect themselves.

Reducing stress

Humanity & Inclusion’s teams and voluntary workers provide psychological support to people in need. They help individuals manage stressful situations and provide personal support, including to women who are experiencing difficulties because they feel isolated or anxious.

We also run protection activities in refugee camps by assessing and reporting safety incidents in the camp, and by identifying people who need support and referring them to relevant organizations.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 20, we count 166 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Wednesday May 20, 2020

Cyclone Amphan, the strongest cyclone to form in two decades in the Bay of Bengal, made landfall on Wednesday, May 20 near Sagar Island in West Bengal, India, not far from the border of Bangladesh at around 5:00 p.m. local time (7:00 a.m. EST). 

According to CNN (as of May 21, 8:32 a.m.), more than 80 people have been killed and thousands more left homeless. Evacuation efforts seemed to have saved many lives, but it could take days to realize the full extent of deaths, injuries, and damage from the storm.

With teams already on the ground in Bangladesh and India, Humanity & Inclusion is closely monitoring developments, and considering a possible emergency response. Experts stand ready to assist the most vulnerable people, including those with disabilities, new injuries from the storm, older people and more generally people who are displaced from their homes.

COVID-19

The coronavirus made it difficult to evacuate millions of Indians and Bangladeshis to temporary shelters. Bangladesh opened more than 13,000 cyclone shelters—nearly triple the usual amount—to keep them less crowded. Evacuees must wear masks inside and maintain physical distance.

Protecting the most vulnerable

We are particularly concerned about our beneficiaries—people with disabilities, older people, people with chronic illnesses, and vulnerable individuals. We're especially worried for individuals and families living in refugee camps, where staying safe from a storm like Amphan, and not catching a virus like COVID-19, is extremely challenging.

Humanity & Inclusion is in close contact with our partners and teams on the ground in Bangladesh and India, and hope they can all stay safe while protecting themselves, their families, and HI beneficiaries from both emergencies. 

Photo caption: Satellite image of Cyclone Amphan on May 18, 2020. Credit: Cyclocane

COVID-19 in Gaza means more isolation and despair for people with disabilities as aid and services for them have been suspended. This is especially true for Ihab, a father of two.

Ihab lives with his wife, 4-year-old daughter, and 1-year-old son in a small house in Gaza. In 2019, as he was selling seeds and cold drinks, violence erupted at a demonstration. Ihab was caught in the attack and both of his legs were injured. The lockdown measures put in place due to COVID-19 complicates his recovery. Humanity & Inclusion’s team recently checked in on Ihab. Here’s what he told us:

The injury changed my life completely. It’s been one year, and I am still in pain with medication and have very limited mobility. I can only walk with crutches. I'm stressed and nervous. I think often of my future and my family. How I can support them and earn money to meet essential needs? I'm still a young guy and I can't walk more that 100 meters due to the injury.

Loss of income

The situation worsened after the lockdown. Markets shut down, so now I can’t sell chickens that I raise on the roof of my house. The chickens have become too big and now, no one will buy them. How will I reimburse my loans and debts?

Fear of the virus

I became afraid to leave the house to avoid the spread of the virus among my family. I spend all day at home. I’m depressed, nervous, and spending a lot of time thinking of my future and my family. I used to spend time with my friends or family who visited me at home. They can no longer come, and now I feel isolated.

Rehabilitation services via WhatsApp

In-person rehabilitation services have  been suspended. I receive rehabilitation care from Humanity & Inclusion’s partners by phone, which includes physical therapy and wound dressing. They provide me with the dressing materials and I perform it at home and they monitor any complications.

I am in pain when I do the session myself and don't trust my skills even though I'm trained and monitored by the teams. I'm afraid that the wound will get infected. Going to the rehabilitation center was a good opportunity to meet people, and to talk and express my feelings. Now that has come to a stop, and I’m totally depressed.

Hygiene against COVID

The easiest measure for me is to stay home and keep social distancing. I don't have money to purchase the essential needs, so cleaning materials and disinfectants are not priority for me. I have a small water tank. When I sweep the floor, wash clothes, have a shower and wash dishes, it uses all of the water for the day.

Isolation and depression

My life became even more difficult after COVID-19. I'm feeling depressed and worried about the future for myself and my family. I’m worried about the impact of the injury on my future and the ability to join any work. I'm afraid that the relationship between me and my wife will worsen more and more since I can't meet the essential need of her and the kids.

I miss meeting people, especially the outreach team, and the services I used to receive after the injury to improve my physical and psychological condition.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 15, we count 166 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

The most vulnerable individuals, including people with disabilities, are bearing the brunt of the lockdown imposed in response to COVID-19. It has left many without food or money. Humanity & Inclusion is helping the most vulnerable individuals, including Saima and her family, survive the crisis.

Saima has used a wheelchair since childhood. When she was only one-year-old, she contracted polio, causing her to become paralyzed. Today, she lives with her family in an impoverished area in Karachi, Pakistan. The lockdown has made their daily lives almost impossible to bear.

Reliant on humanitarian assistance

Saima husband’s is a day laborer. Since being forced to stop working a month ago, the family of five found themselves without enough to eat. Finding food is now an ordeal. Saima and her husband have to travel two hours from their home to a food distribution point in order to find enough to eat. They depend entirely on humanitarian assistance.

Health services have become inaccessible

A few months ago, when her son fell seriously ill, Saima was unable to take him to hospital for treatment. She had no other choice than to keep her child at home until he recovered, without medical assistance.

“I should have gone to hospital, but it is quite far in a wheelchair and I didn’t want to risk catching the virus,” she explains. “I have to use my hands to push myself in my wheelchair. So instead, I stayed at home with my son until his fever broke.”

Learning a new skill

Before Pakistan was hit by the epidemic, Saima was being trained by Humanity & Inclusion in embroidery and sewing. “Like most people with disabilities in Pakistan, Saima was completely excluded from the school system and job market,” says Sumaira Bibi, Humanity & Inclusion’s project monitoring manager in Pakistan. “Once trained, she will be able to make a substantial contribution to the family’s income.”  

With their combined income, the couple would have been able to send their children to the nearby school. Like the rest of us, Saima looks forward to the COVID-19 crisis ending. She told our team that she hopes the suffering fo the poorest in society, including people with disabilities, comes to an end. In the meantime, Humanity & Inclusion team is there for Saima and her family. We’re working harder than ever to ensure family’s like Saima’s have the care and support they need to get through this crisis.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 11, we count 161 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

In South Sudan’s Juba County, Humanity & Inclusion has identified more than 5,200 people with disabilities as well as very frail people who need support as the coronavirus makes its presence known. Vulnerable among the vulnerable, most are already displaced from their homes, and face numerous barriers to staying safe from COVID-19. 

Nearly 11 million people live in South Sudan, and statistical modeling suggests that the coronavirus is likely to reach more than half of the population. For a country with just 24 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and very limited medical equipment, slowing the spread of the virus is paramount, and Humanity & Inclusion teams have been fighting to do just that since March.

The presence of the coronavirus was detected late in this East-Central African country. The first COVID-19 case appeared in early April. Trend analysis from 45 African countries that reported cases as of March 24, suggests almost all countries will reach 1,000 cases by the end of May, and 10,000 cases a few weeks after that. We are on standby for a rapid increase in the number of new cases in South Sudan within 3-6 weeks from end of April. 

Humanity & Inclusion has been accompanying vulnerable people with disabilities and internally displaced people in South Sudan since 2006. Fearing the worst, our 95-person team had anticipated the risks, and had already adapted their activities to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Disastrous hygiene conditions

“Our teams are making every effort to improve the country's emergency response to COVID-19 and to protect the most vulnerable,” explains Armogast Mwasi, South Sudan Program Director for Humanity & Inclusion. “From door-to-door outreach to the most vulnerable, to the coordination of working groups with the country's health authorities, HI is working at all levels. But the situation is complicated.

“Health and hygiene conditions are disastrous. 56% of the South Sudan population are without access to primary health care services. And out of approximately 2,300 health facilities, more than 1,300 (57%) of facilities are non-functional and health facility surveillance gap is at 40%. Plus, more than half of the population lacks access to safe water and a mere 15% have access to latrines. Currently the country is home to 1.67 million displaced people and 279,880 spontaneous returnees are living in the country.

“Even without the coronavirus, 6 million people are likely to experience crisis or emergency food security outcomes. Communities with high numbers of returnees and IDPs are particularly vulnerable, given that food sources and market supplies are already scarce. Closure of border crossings related to COVID-19 response have put pressure on already high food prices, exchange rate fluctuations, closure of businesses considered non-essential with key concerns on reduced income earning opportunities, further increasing their vulnerability. The result takes the form of negative coping strategies and disease outbreaks.

“So, as you can imagine, the conditions here are definitively not in place to effectively combat the spread of the pandemic, but our teams are doing their best to protect our beneficiaries, the persons with disabilities and older people, among the most vulnerable to this virus. The virus exacerbates the ongoing humanitarian crisis around health infrastructure, economy, livelihoods and water, sanitation and poor hygiene.  

“The challenge for Humanity & Inclusion is to maintain access in the midst of movement restrictions, xenophobic and violent attacks to meet the basic needs of vulnerable people so they do not become even more vulnerable. We must ensure their access to food, hygiene products and health services, as much as possible.”

Door-to-door

Humanity & Inclusion’s activities continue in the settlements of displaced people, but in addition HI now also contributes to prevention activities. Awareness raising and learning how to stop the spread of the virus is done with each beneficiary or target group, and the ways we do this are also adapted to protect each person from the virus. We have already conducted 389 house-to-house sessions, reaching 3,110 individuals.

For that purpose, HI led active and systematic identification, evaluation and referral of persons with specific needs or extremely vulnerable Individuals. By late March, the project had identified more than 5,200 people in two UN protection of civilian sites in Juba. All of these individuals will learn to protect themselves and their friends and families from COVID-19. On April 1, we launched home-to-home community engagement awareness campaigns on COVID-19 preparedness, prevention and response in the protection of civilian sites.

"Leave No One Behind" – One of our key messages:

“People with disabilities are at high risk of getting sick during the COVID-19 pandemic because they may not receive information on how to protect themselves. They may be unaware of where and how to access the services and support they need. Share all information you receive with persons with disabilities and their caregivers, so they can also be informed!"

Humanity & Inclusion has trained and identified 27 staff, as well as 69 community focal contacts, including older people, members of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs or DPOs), women and youth representatives, and religious leaders in two protection of civilian sites run by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

So far, teams have conducted 12 awareness-raising sessions, each with only eight participants, according to social distancing measures. Participants learn to protect themselves and provide the people they assist with prevention information. They were taught about the COVID-19 outbreak, the ways the virus spreads, signs and symptoms, and precautionary measures such as the use of face masks, avoiding handshakes, social distancing, and frequent hand washing. They also learned how to spread positive messages, regarding the protection of the people with disabilities, and how people with disabilities and their caregivers should be provided equal access to healthcare and supportive services.

Reaching as many people as possible

In order to effectively raise awareness of COVID-19, and to reach the greatest number of people with stay-healthy messages, the team has involved media, and has sponsored one radio talk show reaching approximately 280,000.

With the support and input from organizations of persons with disabilities, we have adapted the national task force’s COVID-19 awareness materials. Two posters and a radio script will be used for wide circulation throughout South Sudan.

Simultaneously, Humanity & Inclusion has been coordinating with national authorities and humanitarian actors in three of the five established COVID-19 working groups. These groups are risk communication and community engagement, infection prevention and control, and case management. HI staff are participating in bilateral meetings and the national coordination platform, clusters, and technical working groups. In the health cluster, HI has been appointed the lead agency for coordination of the sub-group on COVID-19 mental health and psychosocial support national hotline and disability working group.

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As of May 7, we count 141 new projects that aim to protect our beneficiaries and staff from the virus, and to help them during their countries' lock downs. As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

Begin a monthly gift today to help sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.