Kiwi Aid Worker Prepares For Covid-19 Arrival In The World’s Largest Refugee Camp

The first casesof Covid-19 are emerging in refugee camps and if Kiwis don’t act now, it will likely end in suffering and a large loss of life, warns aid agency Tearfund New Zealand.

Tearfund’s spokesperson based in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Carl Adams, says they are preparing for a spread of the virus in the camp.

“Last week the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the area near Cox’s Bazar. Like New Zealand, we are doing everything we can to ‘flatten the curve’ though we fear that it is a matter of time before the virus reaches the camps,” says, the Kiwi aid worker.

According to the UN, there are 855,000 official Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar all of whom are vulnerable. “In a refugee camp, the options for social distancing and practising good hygiene are very limited which meanstheimpact of the virus on refugees could be devastating.”

He says, “A week ago, we movedinto essential services only, focusing on lifesaving support, primary healthcare, caring for severely malnourished children and suspected Covid-19 isolation and referral. We are also making sure we have sufficientprotective equipment to keep our frontline health staff safeand we aredoubling down on our hygiene awareness and handwashing promotion efforts in the community.”

Tearfund’s partner, Medair, and otherteamsworking with refugees can’tsave livesunless they have the resources, which is why it is so important for Kiwis to get involved.

Tearfund has launched an appeal to provide emergency relief and support to the most vulnerable refugees, providing hygiene kits and emergency food in Lebanon and funding health clinics for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

“This is an incredibly challenging time for families around the world, including Kiwis. We all need to support and look out for one another. Across our global community, vulnerable people are even more at risk and this is especially true for Rohingya refugees. I would simply ask that we would not forget about them,” Adams says.

About Tearfund 
We are Tearfund, a New Zealand faith-based aid and development organisation. Our faith is visible. It acts, it speaks, and it stands alongside those in need. Together with our partners on the ground and our supporters at home, we sponsor children, we restore, nourish and empower communities in need, and we protect the vulnerable from exploitation. We act and advocate against injustice and poverty overseas and call on New Zealanders to do the same. Assistance and care are always provided without bias or prejudice in terms of race, religion, caste, class, political beliefs or gender. And we’ve been doing it for more thanforty-fiveyears.www.tearfund.org.nz

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