Jean-Loup Gouot, Director of Humanity & Inclusion in Bangladesh, tells us more about our work in aid of Rohingya refugees in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nearly one third of our teams are continuing our ‘essential’ work and providing response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Other staff members have adopted alternative working methods—they work from home or do not work at the moment—and are ready to help if we need to beef up our emergency response.

For people living in refugee camps and host communities, our teams organize awareness-raising sessions on good hygiene practices to stop the spread of COVID-19. We also identify people requiring medical care and refer them to partner organizations, and provide personal psychological support to the most vulnerable individuals—the Rohingya refugees who need it.

Humanity & Inclusion has made two warehouses available—in Unchiprang and Dhumdumia—where national and international humanitarian organizations can store humanitarian equipment, a fleet of trucks can transport humanitarian aid such as hygiene kits and mobility aids, and relief for other organizations, to people living in hard-to-reach areas. We have noticed an increase in the number of trucks transporting specialized equipment in response to the coronavirus emergency.

As many Humanity & Inclusion staff members are working from home or are temporarily off work, our human resources team has developed an online training platform to build the capacities of our national and international teams. Over the next few days, they will be able to access more than 150 compulsory, recommended or optional online training courses, including on the humanitarian response to COVID-19, which can also be accessed by other colleagues in Nepal.

We aim to adapt our activities to assist Covid-19 victims and expect to launch a number of new projects very shortly.”

Archive Photo: Humanity & Inclusion staff conduct an emergency intervention in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh in 2018.

COVID-19 continues to spill across continents and countries, causing widespread disarray. The pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 55,092 people and sickened more than one million people globally, with numbers still rising. In the United States alone, there are more than 245,646 cases as of April 3, and more than 6,068 have died.

Humanity & Inclusion's field teams are changing the ways they work to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes reviewing their current actions, while implementing new projects to protect people from the virus. We’re also dealing with the impact of the crisis, focusing on people with disabilities, children, women, as well as isolated and older people.

Read our latest update.

Help us reach as many people as possible.

Protecting the most vulnerable

Nearly 40 of our projects have adapted their actions to implement (or to prepare) measures in response to the virus, including multiple awareness and prevention actions in Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Sierra Leone, and other countries.

Hygiene awareness--for everyone

Our teams will provide adapted messages to people with disabilities to ensure they have accurate, accessible information. Other messages are specifically targeted at caregivers. All of our messages will be conveyed in a way that ensures the target audience can receive the message. 

How many bars of soap do you have? 🧼

Imagine what it's like to be a refugee family during the #COVID19 pandemic. You can help them be prepared!

$30 provides a family of 5 with supplies needed to stay clean & fight against the #Coronavirus.

Give now 👉🏽 https://t.co/NlL22tlzk5 pic.twitter.com/y8s9RrzgXL

— Humanity & Inclusion U.S. (@HI_UnitedStates) March 31, 2020

Support the most vulnerable

We will do everything we can to protect as many people as possible and help break the spread of COVID-19. We are so grateful to our supporters for standing alongside us as we take on this challenge. But we will need your continued support.

Make a designated gift to our COVID-19 response today.

*All funds raised through our www.hi-us.org/COVID_donation page will be 100% allocated to our COVID-19 response efforts. However, any funds raised beyond the needs of our COVID-19 response will be used to support other vital programs around the world.

Our field teams are changing the ways they work to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes reviewing their current actions, while implementing new projects to protect people from the virus. We’re also dealing with the impact of the crisis, focusing on people with disabilities, children, women, as well as isolated and older people.

As of March 31, there are 809,600 confirmed coronavirus cases in 179 countries and territories. In the 55 countries where Humanity & Inclusion works, 94% are affected by the pandemic. It is vital to prevent the spread of the virus in Africa, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Despite the small number of officially identified cases in many of these countries, we must act now. 

Protecting the most vulnerable

“We are adapting our operations in all countries where this is still possible,” says Fanny Mraz from the Emergency Division at Humanity & Inclusion. “Our first aim is to protect our beneficiaries—those who are among the most vulnerable to this virus. The challenge is to prevent transmission of the virus and meet the basic needs of vulnerable people, so they do not become even more vulnerable and ensure they have access to food, hygiene products and health services.”

“In line with the situation in the field, we are making these changes in every country. We have placed some projects on standby, adapted others, and launched new ones specifically to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. For the time being, our priority sectors are hygiene, protection, access to livelihoods, psychosocial assistance, and logistics support to humanitarian actors for the transport of humanitarian aid.” 

Reinforcing 37 existing projects

Nearly 40 of our projects have adapted their actions to implement (or to prepare) measures in response to the virus, including multiple awareness and prevention actions in Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Sierra Leone, and other countries. We have also adjusted our logistics activities and humanitarian assistance in central Africa to include the use of gloves, masks, and hand sanitizing gel, particularly in Rwanda. The number of projects shifting to a COVID-19 response is subject to constant change. 

Hygiene awareness--for everyone

Any emergency sanitation and medical responses must be combined with awareness-raising and educational messages. This helps protect everyone and strengthen the impact of the fight against the pandemic. Raising awareness about good hygiene, like washing hands and coughing into elbows, and protection measures is urgently needed to combat COVID-19. Our teams have been trained to protect themselves and provide the people they assist with inclusive prevention information. Learning aids, such as posters, comply with international guidelines on the crisis, as well as accessibility standards.

“We recommend ways that members of the Humanity & Inclusion team and their beneficiaries can protect themselves when they meet each other. This includes hand washing with soap, the use of hand sanitizing gel, social distancing, and in certain cases, wearing FFP2 masks in health facilities. We face the same problems as people everywhere. It will be just as difficult to get FFP2 masks as it is in Europe, perhaps more so. Other problems will probably include a spike in discrimination and violence based on disability, gender and age, but also towards groups like migrants, displaced people, asylum seekers, refugees and returnees,” Fanny adds.

Our teams will provide adapted messages to people with disabilities to ensure they have accurate, accessible information. Other messages are specifically targeted at caregivers. All of our messages will be conveyed in a way that ensures the target audience can receive the message. 

Future actions: an emergency response adapted to COVID-19

Humanity & Inclusion’s Emergency Division has created a COVID-19 crisis emergency response framework that integrates the need to support pre-determined priority sectors for governments, communities, and individuals in the countries where we work. Where it is not possible to access populations, we will implement a specific response based on the media, digital resources, and internet sites. 

“Emergency action includes the distribution of hygiene equipment and livelihood assistance. Atlas Logistics, Humanity & Inclusion’s logistics operations unit specialized in supply chains and logistics solutions for other humanitarian aid actors is ready to respond. Atlas Logistics can make its logistics platforms and expertise in analyzing access problems available to the humanitarian community,” says Fanny Mraz. “We should also provide close support to people with intellectual disabilities who can develop specific symptoms—severe stress and anxiety—in these situations. We will also keep a close eye on the stigmatization of people affected by COVID-19, particularly people with disabilities.”

Securing the resources for action

Our teams on the ground will require additional resources to combat the COVID-19 crisis. We will need financial support, along with special equipment which is currently in short supply around the world, and in short supply to our local teams.  

We will do everything we can to protect as many people as possible and help break the spread of COVID-19. We are so grateful to our supporters for standing alongside us as we take on this challenge. But we will need your continued support.

Make a monthly gift to help us sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

COVID-19 continues to spill across continents and countries, causing widespread disarray. The pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 55,092 people and sickened more than one million people globally, with numbers still rising. In the United States alone, there are more than 245,646 cases as of April 3, and more than 6,068 have died.

Humanity & Inclusion is taking special measures to protect its teams, maintain operational capabilities, and continue assisting the most vulnerable. We're making changes to the ways we work and assist at-risk populations. This includes providing local people with accessible, stay healthy messages, and offering access to physical therapists via WhatsApp. Read our latest update on our COVID-19 response.

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new virus, coronavirus. This new coronavirus first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and is called COVID-19. COVID-19 is a contagious virus that causes mild to critical respiratory symptoms with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. It can be transmitted through person-to-person contact, though much remains unknown about how it spreads.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Symptoms of COVID-19 include respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. In more severe cases, it can cause pneumonia and severe acute respiratory syndrome. At greater risk are people with chronic health conditions and older individuals.

How can I prevent getting COVID-19?

The World Health Organization has the following recommendations for the general public to reduce exposure:

• Frequently wash your hands by using soap and water (for at least 20 seconds), or else use an alcohol-based hand rub
• Maintain at least 3 feet distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. Note that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention suggests 6 feet.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay home if you feel unwell.

How is Humanity & Inclusion responding to COVID-19?

Our top priority is the health of our staff and beneficiaries. We’re doing everything we can to provide our teams with information on the protection and health measures to take to protect themselves and the community from the virus. Worldwide, our teams continue their existing work when that's possible, mainly through teleworking. Our goal is to remain operational in aid of beneficiaries in the 55 countries where we have field teams.

How dangerous is COVID-19 for people with disabilities?

The pandemic is growing in most of our program countries. The people we assist every day--people with disabilities, people with injuries, refugees and displaced people—have the right to the same protections and precautions. The most vulnerable of the vulnerable, our beneficiaries already experience poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. At this stage, the dire situation facing Western countries may prove disastrous for people living in some countries where we work, and more specifically for the very individuals we assist, some of whom live with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, or the effects of being older. The goal is to provide them with more support than ever.

Assisting the most vulnerable

Our teams are drawing up activity continuity plans to maintain our essential work in changing circumstances. The organization is putting arrangements in place to adapt its action to developments in the pandemic and provide an operational response, while assisting in the general effort to combat the coronavirus.

Donate to help Humanity & Inclusion ensure that individuals with disabilities are included

We will do everything we can to protect as many people as possible and help break the spread of COVID-19. We are so grateful to our supporters for standing alongside us as we take on this challenge. But we will need your continued support.

Make a monthly gift to help us sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are making changes to the way they work and assisting at-risk populations in response to the global spread of COVID-19. This will include providing local people with accessible, stay healthy messages, and offering access to physical therapists via WhatsApp. Our emergency rehabilitation expert Pauline Falipou explains:

“We are particularly concerned about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the most vulnerable people in the countries where we work—Africa, Central and South America, and Asia. We are making changes to our working practices in order to continue providing rehabilitation care, for example, where health conditions allow.

We are going to make sure that our physical therapists can continue their work organizing rehabilitation sessions for people who need them in countries where the virus ha yet to have a major impact. Our physical therapists will also pass on key messages about health and hygiene measures, such as hand washing, social distancing, etc. As they are in direct contact with the most vulnerable people, they are on the front line—the best place to convey this sort of information.

In addition, we are setting up a program of rehabilitation videos that patients can watch so that they can continue doing their rehabilitation exercises at home. They can also talk to their HI physical therapist via WhatsApp.

We also want to make sure patients who have had surgery or who have been infected with the coronavirus, and need to get back on their feet, are able to benefit from rehabilitation sessions in hospitals where hygiene guidelines are followed.

More broadly, we are very concerned about the impact of the economic crisis COVID-19 is likely to cause, particularly on the health care system and the ability of the most vulnerable people to access rehabilitation services.”

Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are assessing its scope for action and plans to use its expertise in emergency situations, working with and for people with disabilities and older people, and its experience of past epidemic situations to protect the most vulnerable.

The COVID-19—or coronavirus—epidemic is spreading at a rapid rate in all of the countries where Humanity & Inclusion works. Some countries are reporting their first cases, while others have already experienced an exponential rise in the number of cases and deaths. The spread of the coronavirus threatens to cause major health disasters where we work.

A unique expertise to fight the virus

Humanity & Inclusion remains committed to helping those most in need by continuing to assist its beneficiaries wherever possible, without exposing our teams to danger. We are also preparing to adapt our response in the field. We plan to use our expertise in major epidemic situations to help people, particularly those exposed to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

History of action against epidemics

In our 38 years, we have responded to other major epidemics, in order to prevent their spread and to protect local communities.

Ebola

In 2016, in Sierra Leone, our teams worked to contain the spread of Ebola. As part of our response, our logistics experts managed the country’s only centralized ambulance service to transport patients who were suspected to be infected and disinfected their homes. The ambulance service played a very important role in breaking the chain of transmission. We did this work in a district of Sierra Leone, including the capital Freetown.

Cholera

Our teams also helped prevent cholera epidemics in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake and in 2010 after severe floods in Pakistan. We did social mobilization work and led awareness-raising activities. We also organized informational sessions for vulnerable individuals.

Determining our scope of action

Humanity & Inclusion’s experts are examining how best to respond to the current, unprecedented crisis, and how to adapt its resources to this response. We plan to work within the COVID-19 response strategies implemented by national authorities in the countries in question, and by all actors involved in pandemic response.

Protecting the most vulnerable from COVID-19

One of our main priorities will be to take into account the needs of vulnerable individuals. This includes people with disabilities, older individuals, and also people living very close to refugee camps who are particularly at risk of rapid spread.

Weak health systems combined with humanitarian crises increase the vulnerability of people living in the world’s poorest countries. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm on March 19, when he spoke of the threat posed to the poorest countries faced with the spread of the epidemic. As 15% – 20% of patients on average require hospital care, and 6% intensive care, health systems in these countries will be unable to cope with the crisis alone. 

Ensuring accessible messaging & an inclusive response

Humanity & Inclusion will take part in prevention actions and ensure awareness messages are adapted and inclusive for people with disabilities and the most vulnerable. To start, we published a repository of resources on disability inclusion and COVID-19 as a member of the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and the CORE Group Disability Inclusive Health Technical Advisory Group.

We also plan to provide support to our local partners, such as Organizations for People with Disabilities (OPDs or DPOs), and local authorities.

Securing the resources for action

Our teams on the ground will require additional resources to combat the COVID-19 crisis. We will need financial support, along with special equipment which is currently in short supply around the world, and in short supply to our local teams.  

We will do everything we can to protect as many people as possible and help break the spread of COVID-19. We are so grateful to our supporters for standing alongside us as we take on this challenge. But we will need your continued support.

Make a monthly gift to help us sustain this work and reach as many people as possible.

Photo caption: Humanity & Inclusion staff evaluate people who were injured in the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Although Europe is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the virus continues to spill across continents and countries, causing widespread disarray. The number of affected people increases daily by the thousands. Given this unprecedented and dramatic situation, Humanity & Inclusion is taking special measures to protect its teams, maintain its operational capabilities, and continue assisting the most vulnerable.

Informed & engaged teams

Our top priority is the health of our staff and beneficiaries. We’re doing everything we can to provide our teams with information on the protection and health measures to take and implement to protect themselves and the community from the virus. Worldwide, our teams continue their efforts where possible, mainly through teleworking. Our goal is to remain operational in aid of beneficiaries in the 60 countries where we have field teams.

Our beneficiaries: the most vulnerable

The pandemic is growing in most of our program countries. The people we assist every day--people with disabilities, people with injuries, refugees and displaced people—have the right to the same protections and precautions. The most vulnerable of the vulnerable, our beneficiaries already experience poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. At this stage, the dire situation facing Western countries may prove disastrous for people living in some countries where we work, and more specifically for the very individuals we assist. The goal is to provide them with more support than ever.

Assessing how best to assist the most vulnerable

Our teams are drawing up activity continuity plans to continue our essential work in changing circumstances. The organization is putting arrangements in place to adapt its action to developments in the pandemic and provide an operational response, while assisting in the general effort to combat the coronavirus.

Photo caption: Claudia, a field coordinator with Humanity & Inclusion, who is wearing a tan vest with an HI logo, walks toward a family of refugees in Uganda. The photo was originally taken in 2017.