By Olivia Acosta Alexander Arauz is a 22 year old interior designer. He is also studying Business Administration in Rivas, a city in the South Pacific of Nicaragua, very close to the Costa Rican border. He began his volunteering with the Nicaraguan Red Cross as a lifeguard in the Rivas branch 7 years ago, also he participated in the emergency of Tropical Storm Nate, as well as in Zika prevention projects, and now he is part of the network of communicators in the organization. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Alexander wanted to help in the design and implementation of activities to support the population in the fight against the pandemic, such as the dissemination of prevention measures against the virus and the psychosocial support service, to help manage the stress of people with COVID, or those who have lost their loved ones due to the pandemic. According to Alexander, "The people we talk to are having a hard time, we even practice self-relaxation exercises with them to try to reduce their stress. There are other people who want to know how they should protect themselves and receive accurate information about COVID-19. We have also set up a Facebook account to spread how to use the masks, what are the mechanisms of transmission of the virus, and how they should protect themselves to avoid infection”. Alexander has many things to tell, but one of the experiences most impressed him is about the support offered to the hundreds of truck drivers who were blocked in the border with Costa Rica for several weeks, due to movement restrictions imposed by the pandemic. "They were truck drivers from several countries in the region (Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica), who could not access with their trucks across the border to Costa Rica or Panama, to deliver their goods. The situation they found themselves was deplorable, they had to live outdoors with their clothes on and sleep under their trucks, exposed to unhealthy conditions, and even to robberies...". Nicaraguan Red Cross has been supporting them in this difficult situation and has delivered more than 1,000 food kits to the truck drivers and also reviewed their health status. According to Alexander, "many of them were afraid of getting the virus and we had to take temperatures to check for fever or other symptoms of COVID-19. I remember that, among all of them, there was only one woman. She was very worried about beeing in touch with her children and thanks to the neighbors in the area, she was able to recharge her cell phone several times to be able to talk to them". All Nicaraguan Red Cross volunteers wear protective equipment with masks, caps and goggles to do their work. According to Alexander, "At first we were all worried about getting the virus and infect our families, especially when we transported by ambulence people who might have coronavirus. But if you follow the established protective measures, you feel safe and realize that the most important thing is the value of the work we do for others. I feel very good and satisfied, we are working to support the population in these hard times, we feel like heroes without a cape helping people we do not know, treating them as if they were our relatives. According to Alexander, as it is also happening in other countries of the region, the prevention measures against the virus are quite relaxed now and some people do not even wear a mask. "Although in Nicaragua there was never a mandatory confinement, at the beginning people did not go out very much from home, respected physical distances, and almost all wore masks. There were even people who looked like astronauts walking down the street. Now we see a lot of people without protection, in crowds, and even many families are sightseeing and going all together to the beach... we have a hard job ahead of us to continue raising awareness, because the pandemic is not over," he concludes. Nicaraguan Red Cross. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the actions of the Nicaraguan Red Cross have focused on contributing to the epidemic control of the virus at the national level through the promotion of hygiene, the use of masks and the distribution of hygiene kits to the most vulnerable populations. Likewise, since last March the Nicaraguan Red Cross has been implementing the development of a massive communication campaign focused on the prevention of COVID-19, reaching more than 1.5 million people.

By Farid Alam, 21-year-old resident of Kutupalong camp, whose parents fled Rakhine, Myanmar nearly 30 years ago. Farid is a Bangladesh Red Crescent volunteer working alongside international Red Cross operations. When I was born in Kutupalong camp, Bangladesh, it was a very different place. I remember laughing and flying kites as a child with my friends. Kites are not flying around our camps anymore. There is little laughter. Just months ago, we lived in a different world. We used to go outside a lot, seeking freedom from our little bamboo and plastic homes. But now, due to COVID we cannot. Often we are told to stay inside. It’s hot and cramped as I have a big family, with nine of us living in one room. Physical distance is just not possible in our homes. It’s the same for most living here. We have hardly any masks and other protective equipment in the camps. We have no idea how we are surviving. Most people in the camps do not seem to care about much, certainly not COVID-19. Our main worries are our dignity, our safety and having hope for our future. We are not only fighting with the coronavirus here. We are fighting much more. I know about COVID-19 but most people in the camps have not heard of it. Many don’t know what a virus is. We have seen many organizations using loudspeakers to make people aware of coronavirus. It doesn’t work. They speak so fast and move past too quickly. Our community Bangladesh Red Crescent volunteers are doing a great job going door to door. I’m seeing people understand now. It helps a lot. I see this place full of suffering. From dawn to dusk, we endure challenges: finding food, repairing our homes, keeping safe or seeking water. Our lives are filled with limitations. Most of us do not have the opportunity to read and write. When I can, I pass the time reading. I love history and English literature. Ever since my childhood, I wanted to be a teacher. I studied up to my eighth year as we were not allowed more education than that. It was very difficult to accept. Since then I have been studying by myself. It would be my dream to become a teacher. But my life has become very difficult lately as my father is sick. For many years, my 48-year-old father volunteered with Bangladesh Red Crescent operations in the camps. Our whole family was dependent on his allowance and aid we received. He has developed heart problems and other health complications. Since I was 14, I have been volunteering with Red Crescent. I have been working as much as possible, around two weeks a month and I am paid a small allowance. This money is all we have. I want to support my family with all my heart. I am trying to protect my family from COVID-19. My parents came here after fleeing from Rakhine in Myanmar nearly 30 years ago. Every day I worry for my mother, who suffers from chronic kidney disease. Our shelters are getting old. The bamboo frames, plastic and tarpaulins are wearing out. When it rains, water often pours into our homes. It’s the monsoon season now and it’s raining a lot so it is very hard to sleep. We often wait in a queue to access a toilet and bathing area. It’s shared with 25-30 people. My mother and sister fear going out at night to use the toilet. There is no lighting and they must go in complete darkness. Often I go for support. Things are worse in the mud of the monsoon rains. Staring at the roof of our shelter, I hear the sound of people speaking nonstop. We have no personal space. No privacy whatsoever. As if life is not hard enough, there are mice and rats as big as cats. They often make more holes in our tarpaulins. I find time to help my neighbour’s children reading and writing. I teach them maths, Arabic and English. I love teaching them. I don’t want children in my community to lose their future. Since official teaching activities have been halted, I think the children will forget the lessons they have been taught by their teachers in the past. I also speak to them about the risks we face with COVID-19. If I were a citizen of any country, I could finish my education. I would love to pursue a higher education. If I could become a teacher and work, I would love to better support my family. But I am not that lucky person. I am stuck here. I do not know what will happen to me and my family in the coming days. Whatever happens, we will face it together. All I want is to forget everything and start a new life. Earn a little to survive and live a very simple life with my family.

I’m an emergency doctor with years of experience yet dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak in the Bangladesh camps is by far the biggest challenge I have ever faced. I live and work in the heart of the biggest camp for displaced people in the world. Where many live 10 to a cramped room, I sleep in a big tent with one other doctor. Where most homes leak in the heavy rain, mine is watertight. When I rise at dawn, I see morning mists on the hills of Myanmar. A seven-month-old baby girl tests positive for COVID-19 and becomes one of our first cases. Her family lives among the jigsaw puzzle of bamboo and tarpaulin homes cramped across the hillsides. Our community health volunteers have trekked along muddy tracks to counsel the family. The baby and extended family are all at risk. It is a difficult conversation involving many family members and finally the parents agree to take the child to our COVID treatment centre. On arrival, the father is upset and changes his mind about allowing the baby to be admitted. The mother is also distraught as she reveals that she has lost two babies in the past year. She does not want to take any risks with her baby girl. It is heartbreaking to see her pain. Our health workers counsel the father and it becomes clear that he also fears for himself and despairs for what he will do with no food and no one to cook for him at home. We offer to support him with food as well as providing for the baby and her mother. Finally, the father agrees that he will isolate at home for two weeks after being in close contact with his COVID-positive child. The fear about this dangerous disease hangs thick in the air. There is little understanding about the way it is spread. Gaining trust of everyone is a major challenge and is key to tackling the spread of diseases in the camps. The next day, the father and the baby’s grandfather arrive at our treatment centre and threaten to leave with the mother and their baby. We urgently involve local camp and religious leaders, including the Head Majhi. The meeting is fruitful and again we agree that the baby can receive medical treatment. Minutes later, a young sick woman arrives for treatment. In the first instance, we diagnose the woman as suffering from a severe depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The woman’s husband was killed in front of her in Myanmar and she fled with her two-year-old child. Every day she feels dull and lethargic, and doesn’t feel like doing anything. We arrange longer-term support for the young woman at our larger field hospital. This woman is almost 10 years younger than me. I cannot imagine what such a young person has been through in such a short life. Her blank stare is void of emotion and it still haunts me when I think about the pain behind her eyes. Nothing prepared me for these camps. I have been living in a tent for two months. It’s the first time that I have ever lived in a tent and it still feels unreal. But it’s a world apart from the tiny makeshift homes that seem stacked on top of each other along steep hilly slopes. Privacy that we take for granted is unthinkable. Physical distance is near impossible. Every day our teams stream out along the maze of muddy paths investigating cases and encouraging people to stay safe, particularly contacts of COVID-positive people. So far, there have been just 78 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Tragically 6 lives have been lost due to this coronavirus, yet it’s a far cry from earlier projections that thousands of lives would be lost. Life here is harder than most can imagine. Yet I am struck by the strength and sheer resilience of people who get on with making the best of life for their children and those who are frail. I see proud people working hard to make their homes as comfortable as possible. Reinforcing flimsy houses. Making them safer from storms and monsoon rains. Community volunteers from the camps work alongside aid agencies to build their toilets and water wells. I am struck by the limited number of toilets often far from houses. There is no electricity except for on a few main streets, so women and children face harassment when they use a toilet in the dark nights. Life here seems unfair for everyone. Young children fetch water from wells. Pumping the wells and trekking with heavy water containers is hard work for the strongest of adults. In front of our field hospital, I notice two girls around 8-years-old, playing just outside the gate. I am amazed by the house they build out of sand and mud. The house has four separate rooms. I am sure any architect would be impressed with the perfect, straight walls. This model home is a dream for these children. Everyone here deserves to fulfill their dreams of a safer, better life.

Geneva, 28 September 2020 – The following is attributable to Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): “Today, we stand in grim solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of families that have lost loved ones. A million deaths represent 1 million individual tragedies and countless heartbreaks. They represent many, many thousands of orphans, of widows, of holes in families and community fabrics that will never be filled. They also represent countless health care workers and frontline responders, including many Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff, who have lost their lives. “We know that this is just one more sad milestone in the tragedy that is COVID-19. This is without a doubt one of the largest humanitarian catastrophes in recent times. So today we pause in grief. Yet we continue with our work. “As we have all learned since the start of this pandemic, there is no quick fix. The best advice remains the same as it has been for months: we can lessen and even contain this virus when we adhere to basic public health measures. These include social distancing, the proper use of face masks, good hand hygiene, and robust contact tracing. Where these and other measures are followed, we have seen, and will continue to see, progress. “Equally important is ensuring that at-risk communities are engaged and listened to. Their beliefs, worries and fears need to be understood and acted upon. Trust between communities and authorities will be crucial to ending this pandemic. And of course, as we focus around the clock on responding to the outbreak in every corner of the world, we need to be planning for the support that millions of people will need to rebuild their lives even once this illness is finally defeated.” ENDS Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IFRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have reached tens of millions of people in nearly every country around the world with a range of services, including health care, water and sanitation, mental health support and community engagement activities.

Ariuntuya is no stranger to tragedy. Thirteen years ago, the 51-year-old lost both her legs in a car accident. She lost her much-loved husband some 10 years ago, and two years later her son tragically died in another car accident. Her immediate family gone, she now lives with her 15-year-old niece in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, making her living by sewing woollen slippers. Yet even this simple livelihood is now under threat due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Tourists, who were her primary customers, can no longer travel to Mongolia. After the country shut down to prevent the spread of the virus, many of her local customers stopped placing orders after losing their jobs. Without an income, Ariuntuya now relies on food parcels from the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS). “I appreciate the good gesture shown by the Red Cross in helping me and my family in a time I need them the most,” she said. Stories like Ariuntuya’s are playing out in homes all across Mongolia, a country which has not received global attention largely due to its relative success in tackling COVID-19. As of late September, only 313 COVID-19 cases and zero deaths were reported in the country. This was achieved through restrictions on movement and widespread prevention measures, such as the closure of borders and schools at the start of the pandemic. Though schools re-opened at the start of September, international flights have not resumed. These restrictions have led to significant socio-economic impacts and increased vulnerability among poor households. The World Bank’s Household Response Survey revealed the impact on the country’s poorest families in stark terms: nearly half of poor respondents had been uncertain about their ability to obtain food in the previous 30 days due to lack of money or rising prices; almost one in four (23%) were concerned about food security in the coming week; more than half (53%) said they were worried about their finances over the next month. Moreover, the report revealed that 12% of households experienced job losses, and 7% of households had to close their non-farm business. In response to this economic impact, the Mongolian Red Cross, together with the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), has been providing food and hygiene parcels to the most affected families. So far they have reached more than 3,000 households. Red Cross staff and volunteers are also part of the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19, distributing face-masks, conducting hygiene training and information sessions as well as providing psychosocial support. Secretary General of MRCS, Bolormaa Nordov, said the country’s economic situation was becoming more challenging every day. “These challenges directly lead to significant negative impact on social vulnerability and household livelihoods. IFRC’s COVID-19 operation provided timely support for the most vulnerable households during this pandemic.” Head of the IFRC’s East Asia support team, Gwendolyn Pang, said: “The impacts of COVID-19 in Mongolia are much greater than the limited number of infections and deaths in the country. At IFRC we always value the impact on human lives, more than the numbers.” “In the case of Mongolia, we try to reach out to the most vulnerable people in the most hard to reach communities with services and information that not only protect people from COVID-19 but alleviate the human suffering that is a tragic side effect of this pandemic.”

New York, Geneva, 23 September 2020 – New analysis published today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre reveals that at least 51.6 million people worldwide have been affected by floods, droughts or storms and COVID-19. The pandemic is increasing the needs of people suffering from climate-related disasters, compounding the vulnerabilities they face and hampering their recovery. At least a further 2.3 million people have been affected by major wildfires and an estimated 437.1 million people in vulnerable groups have been exposed to extreme heat, all while contending with the direct health impacts of COVID-19 or measures implemented to curb its spread. The analysis, which quantifies the overlapping vulnerability of communities, shows that out of 132 identified unique extreme weather events that have occurred so far in 2020, 92 have overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing media at the United Nations headquarters in New York ahead of the High Level Roundtable on Climate Action, IFRC President, Francesco Rocca, said “These new figures confirm what we already knew from our dedicated volunteers on the frontlines: the climate crisis has not stopped for COVID-19, and millions of people have suffered from the two crises colliding. We have had absolutely no choice but to address both crises simultaneously.” Across Asia and Africa, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies have responded to widespread and, in many cases, unprecedented flooding that has inundated communities, swept away houses, wiped out food supplies and disrupted livelihoods. Cruelly, COVID-19 has hampered response efforts, for instance by increasing the burden on already stretched or limited health systems and preventing affected people from seeking treatment for fear of catching the virus. In the Americas, Red Cross volunteers have been on the ground providing food, shelter and relief items to people affected by deadly wildfires across the western United States, as well as preparing communities for, and responding to, ongoing hurricanes and tropical storms in the region. “IFRC is uniquely placed to support people living through climate-related disasters and COVID-19 thanks to our network of almost 14 million local volunteers who have remained steadfast in their communities, even as many international organisations had to retreat. They have worked tirelessly to rise to new challenges – from distributing personal protective equipment to adapting evacuation spaces to support physical distancing. Never have I seen a stronger case for localised humanitarian action,” said President Rocca. Climate Advisor with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, Julie Arrighi, said: “While not all climate-related disasters have a direct link with climate change, it is unequivocal that due to global warming we are facing a more volatile climate with more weather extremes. COVID-19 has exposed our vulnerabilities like never before and, as our preliminary analysis shows, compounded suffering for millions of people affected by climate-related disasters.” Reflecting on the global response to COVID-19, IFRC President Rocca said: “The massive global investment in recovering from the pandemic proves governments can act decisively and drastically in the face of imminent global threats – we urgently need this same energy on climate, and it is critical that the recovery from COVID-19 is green, resilient, and inclusive if we are to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable communities.” Download the working paper: Climate-related extreme weather events and COVID-19: A first look at the number of people affected by intersecting disasters [1.1 MB]

By Olivia Acosta Mariela Bareiro is 43 years old, and she has a degree in nursing, but she stopped practicing two years ago due to a family tragedy from which she is still recovering. "When the Paraguayan Red Cross launched an appeal for volunteers to provide information about the pandemic to the population, I didn't think about it, I needed to do something, to feel useful... I thought I could do it, so I did it”. And that's how Mariela's adventure began on June 8th at the National Call Center. This service, which receives more than a thousand calls a day, consists of a free line set up to guide and attend to citizens' questions and concerns regarding COVID-19, implemented by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay. Mariela dedicates 18 hours a week to this job in the morning, along with 18 volunteers from the Paraguayan Red Cross. Her mission is to provide information on prevention and isolation measures and to schedule appointments for coronavirus testing. "Most people call us to report symptoms of COVID-19, we check them and schedule appointments so they can be tested as soon as possible and confirm if they have the virus. But many times the calls they receive require another type of intervention: "Many people call us because they are very sad, they have lost their loved ones because of the pandemic and they need to vent. We receive training in emotional support, to be able to help them in those hard moments. According to Mariela, many people who live alone feel a lot of anxiety when they present symptom of coronavirus and call to know what to do. "That is when we have to do a good listening, reassure them and finally give precise instructions for them to follow. He remembers a 54-year-old man who had lost his wife and two children: "He had symptoms, but he said he didn't care about having the virus, because he was alone and had no one left... quite often there are some difficult calls like this one. Hopefully all this will help us to be more empathetic, more supportive and more humane". On some occasions, they also receive calls from people who need urgent help: "I remember a dramatic case of a 43-year-old woman who fell down at home and hit her head. Her two daughters, who asked for help from the neighbors, called us because no one wanted to help… both had tested positive for COVID-19 a few days earlier. We had to refer the case to the hospital", she recalls. Mariela started as a volunteer 8 years ago at the Red Cross branch in Ñemby, one of the cities in the Central Department of Paraguay, in the youth Area. She has 4 children who are also volunteers for the organization, the youngest is 13 years old, she tells us. "What I do fills me up and makes me passionate, I feel useful and I give the best of myself," she concludes with a smile. The Paraguayan Red Cross is implementing health, water and sanitation activities to respond to the pandemic. 120 mobile washing stations have been installed in strategic locations and more than 5,000 family hygiene kits have been distributed. The Paraguayan Red Cross is also monitoring health status of vulnerable populations at risk of beeing infected by the virus and works in shelters to support the population returning to the country and having to carry out quarantine. In addition, The Paraguayan Red Cross supports several hospitals in the country in the transfer of COVID-19 patients.

Kuala Lumpur/Geneva, 17 September 2020 – A major new survey in four Asian countries reveals nearly one in two people blame specific groups for spreading COVID-19. The survey shows that people are blaming particular groups for spreading the coronavirus including foreigners, people attending religious ceremonies and people who are not following rules such as wearing masks or maintaining physical distance. The snapshot of people’s attitudes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Pakistan also reveals nearly four out of five people distrust social media, despite it being one of the leading sources of information about the virus. The survey of 4,993 people was initiated by the Asia Pacific Risk Communication and Community Engagement Working Group to find out what people know about the virus and how it spreads, in order to enable stronger community-based response. Dr Viviane Fluck, Community Engagement and Accountability Coordinator,International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Asia Pacific,said:“It is alarming that our findings show that almost half of people surveyed believe specific groups are at fault for the spread of COVID-19.” “We are very concerned that vulnerable groups such as migrants and those who cannot afford protective equipment such as masks may be discriminated against due to stigma and fear rising from these views. “Many countries in Asia are experiencing triple crises of COVID-19, natural hazard related disasters and socio-economic upheavals. It’s critical that we step upengagement with communities to address harmful misinformation that hinders efforts to contain this pandemic,”Dr Fluck said. Key data fromthe COVID-19 Community Insights from the Asia Pacific Region Report: Nearly one in two (49%) think a specific group is responsible for the spread of COVID-19 More than two out of three (69%) Malaysians blame others such as people not wearing masks and those attending religious gatherings. Over half of Indonesians (55%) and close to one third of people in Myanmar (32%) and Pakistan (30%) apportion blame to groups such as foreigners and rule-breakers. Almost four in five people (79%) in Malaysia think the disease is not dangerous while four out of five people (80%) in Indonesia think it is very dangerous. Close to nine out of 10 people (87%) across the four countries believe that wearing a mask and handwashing (91%) are ways to protect yourself and family. Traditional healers remain a source of information is some countries, with nearly one in six (16%) people at least sometimes turning to them for information. When asked about information channels, most respondents placed a great deal of trust in television (62%), followed by radio (44%) and newspapers (40%). Only 1 in 5 (22%) people placed a great deal of trust in social media. The full report, titled COVID-19 Community Insights from the Asia Pacific Region, can bedownloaded here. The Asia Pacific Risk Communication and Community Engagement Working Group is an inter-agency coordination platform that provides technical advice to COVID-19 preparedness and response across the region. The survey was conducted by local National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Kantar in Myanmar in partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The COVID-19 Community Insights from the Asia Pacific Region Report data: In total, 4,993 respondents participated in Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Malaysia. A mixed-method approach for data collection was used, collecting data through phone calls, social media, and some limited face-to-face interactions, where appropriate protective measures were taken.Interviews were conducted from29 May to 20 July 2020 with a two-week collection time frame in each country Sampling:A random sampling approach was used with the assumptions of a higher number of participants with less margin of error. Convenience sampling was the only possible option due to movement restrictions. These findings cannot be considered to be statistically representative of the perceptions of the population but provide an indication that should be triangulated with further research.

"Yardim seven ol" means "be someone who loves helping" in Turkish. This is a mantra that Kevser, a Syrian refugee in Turkey, lives by. While trying to rebuild her own life after fleeing conflict in Syria, she works as a volunteer at the Turkish Red Crescent to help vulnerable people in the community. Like the rest of the world, COVID-19 has had a severe impact on Kevser and her family, as well as many other refugees who are particularly vulnerable. Spending three months in lockdown, her husband was not able to work and their debts ballooned. They were able to help pay their debts through cash assistance from the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), which provides monthly cash assistance to more than 1.7 million refugees in Turkey, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Turkish Red Crescent and IFRC. Additional cash assistance over the last two months was provided to families, like Kevser’s to help ease the socio-economic burden brought on by COVID-19. However, this hasn’t stopped her from helping refugees like her and other people in need in the community – it has only helped fuel her. Kevser has been a volunteer at the Turkish Red Crescent’s Community Center, funded by the EU, in Ankara’s Altındağ district for two years, visiting vulnerable households, informing people in need about available resources and referring them to related services when necessary. “We are giving a range of seminars, such as understanding the law in Turkey, their rights, how to go to a hospital, family and children’s health, and the available in-kind assistance for those in need,” Kevser said. Kevser’s volunteerism started back in Syria when she saw the unfolding violence around her in Damascus. She received first aid training and worked in hospitals while training others to become first responders. “I wanted to do something for people, for whomever got wounded,” said Kevser. Kevser and her family decided to leave Syria in 2015 when a bomb landed on their home. “We had a beautiful life in Syria. I had my own business in Damascus. My kids were going to school, my husband was working. We lost everything during the war. We came to Turkey and started from zero,” Kevser said, adding: “It was a hard decision that we made for our children.” Starting a life from scratch, finding a job while still learning the language in a foreign country was tough for her family. The support from the Turkish Red Crescent – both through the ESSN cash assistance and language training in the community centres, became a lifeline. “The assistance has been crucial for us to pay the rent and bills, as my husband is not able to find jobs all the time,” she said. “Without assistance, our life would be very difficult. Turkish Red Crescent changed our life. Iattended courses, became more active, I feel powerful,” Kevser added. Learning the local language changed everything in her life, Kevser says. Her relationship with her neighbours improved, she attended vocational courses, she was able to go to the hospital on her own. It also gave her a chance to give back to the Turkish community as a volunteer. "God willing, I will work, everything will be better," she said. -- ESSN is providing cash to the most vulnerable refugee families living in Turkey. Every month, more than 1.7 million refugees receive 120 Turkish Lira (13.5 euros) via prepaid debit cards, enabling them to decide for themselves how to cover essential needs like rent, transport, bills, food, and medicine. Turkish Red Crescent’s Community Centres support Syrian refugees and host communities to increase livelihoods, resilience and self-reliance, provide community-based health and first aid and give psychosocial support. Centres are funded by European Union Regional Trust Fund (EUTF) in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the MADAD Fund. This article covers humanitarian aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

By Olivia Acosta David Brito is studying to be a commercial engineer in Chile and in the meantime he is thinking about how to help most affected people by COVID-19 in his country. And he comes up with some good ideas. His mother was already a volunteer with the Chilean Red Cross for the extinction of forest fires, when her 23-year-old son joined the O'Higgins Regional Committee three years ago, where he works and develops his creativity in the fight against COVID-19. Since the declaration of the pandemic, David has been thinking about how the Red Cross could help people who were feeling lonely and isolated during the months of confinement. At the same time, many of the organization's senior volunteers were also very frustrated about having to stay home from volunteering. And so, in late March, the Speak to Me project was born. "It all started with the purchase of a SIM card that cost less than 2,000 Chilean pesos (2 euros). With that card and a phone, we were able to make ourselves available to people in confinement who were looking for an emotional distress... At first, we were surprised to find that not only elderly living alone called us, also parents or even young people who were looking to talk to someone who would listen to them and get truthful information about the virus, did it. This service is helping us a lot to fight false rumors that put people's health at risk”. First it was the phone, but such was the acceptance in the community that they quickly set up a WhatsApp line and a Facebook account so they could reach more people. Several senior volunteers in their 70s and 80s answer the calls, while younger ones take care of Facebook and WhatsApp line. According to David: "I thought the project was an excellent idea to offer a double service of psychosocial support: on one hand, senior volunteers who could not leave their homes due to the confinement restrictions, now can work from their homes without over-exposure themselves to the virus, and on the other hand, many people in need are receiving support during these difficult times." The team of 7 volunteers who answer the calls have psychosocial training, and to attend most difficult cases they receive counseling from a psychologist. "I must admit that it was not easy to start”, continues David, "because everyone thought it was very complicated to do it right, but now we have become so famous that we also get calls from other countries. I remember one day when the phone rang at four in the morning... it was an old lady from Spain, Doña Concepción, who was very lonely and needed support. We referred the case to the Spanish Red Cross so they could take care of her from there." They also receive calls from people who have detected that a neighbor is very lonely and needs company, or food, hygiene items, or even medicine. One of the saddest cases was a call that came in about 32 migrant families from different Latin American countries who were living in confinement, crowded together in a tiny space, in terrible conditions. "It was gratifying to be able to help them, especially the children, who were really in need… the best payment is a sincere smile from someone who says thank you.” According to David, "we adapt to any situation no matter how difficult it is, the will of the whole team made the project moving forward because we are not going to give up on our fight against coronavirus. Our motto is: we make the imposible, possible," he ends. The Chilean Red Cross in response to the pandemic has provided more than 49,000 services in polyclinic activities, support to vaccination campaigns, delivery of humanitarian aid to migrants and vulnerable communities, distribution of PPE, food distribution, psychosocial support, etc. In addition, it has disseminated information and prevention measures and has made home visits to people with mobility difficulties and the elderly.

Geneva, 10 September 2020 – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Croatian Red Cross today signed a new partnership agreement with global messaging app Rakuten Viber to engage new online audiences with trusted COVID-19 information and share humanitarian stories of hope.IFRC first collaborated with Rakuten Viber on a campaign for World Blood Donor Day in June, with a pack of bespoke stickers encouraging people to give blood shared over 800,000 times on the platform. The campaign drove over 160,000 Viber users to join IFRC’s Community where they continue to engage with regular, accurate updates about COVID-19, as well as learn about the vital humanitarian assistance delivered by Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers worldwide.For today’s official launch, IFRC worked with Viber to develop a brand new pack of vibrant and inclusive stickers designed to promote kindness and solidarity among the platform’s users and encourage them to volunteer with the National Society in their country. IFRC has also launched a Russian language Community to engage with the app’s strong user base in Eastern Europe, with an Arabic language Community soon to follow.Anna Znamenskaya, Chief Growth Officer at Rakuten Viber, said: “As a leading messaging app, we play an important role in delivering verified information to our users, and we see it as our responsibility to do so. Through our strategic partnership with the IFRC, we are staying true to our commitment. We can share with pride that we are engaging more and more users in the humanitarian activities of the organisation globally, not only informing users in the IFRC community, but also providing them with tools to spread the word about the campaign.”IFRC Director of Communications, Derk Segaar, said: “In the midst of a coronavirus infodemic, this new partnership with Rakuten Viber will help IFRC continue its vital work spreading facts not fear, and hopefully inspire a generation of new humanitarians.”“IFRC is delighted to formalise our partnership with Rakuten Viber and take our growing Community to the next level. As the world’s largest humanitarian network, we’re always looking for new ways to engage with our millions of volunteers and their communities online – and to do that we need to meet them on their preferred channels,” Mr Segaar said.Executive President of the Croatian Red Cross, Robert Markt, said: “We at the Croatian Red Cross are proud that such a small but creative National Society can contribute globally to the spread of humanity.”

Geneva, 10 September 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disaster for people from all walks of life, but an absolute “catastrophe” for the world’s vulnerable migrants, people seeking asylum and refugees. Already weak social safety nets are eroding, migrants are being stuck, stranded without access to support, in some cases unable to move or return, as well as exposed to increasing risks of unwarranted deportation and detention, and heightening stigma and discrimination. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Francesco Rocca, the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said: “COVID-19 has been cruel for all of us. It has been catastrophic for migrants. They face even more restrictions in terms of accessing basic services in ways that contribute nothing to public health. They are disproportionately impacted by border closures. They face heightened risk of detention and deportation. They are increasingly scapegoated for the pandemic.” National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have seen a sharp increase in the vulnerability of migrants around the world. For example, in Central America, the closing of borders and the hardening of policies have seen thousands of migrants trapped at points along the isthmus, including in Darien Province in Panama, and on the Costa Rica side of the Nicaragua border. In Europe, thousands of migrants remain stranded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in large part due to COVID-19 restrictions. In Greece, appeals to move vulnerable migrants from inadequate facilities on islands to the mainland have also stalled, in part because of the pandemic. IFRC President Rocca said: “Border closures and lack of political will have trapped tens thousands of migrants in Europe, North Africa and the Americas in an intolerable limbo, often without access to critical support to meet their most basic needs and stay safe.” In terms of economic impact, President Rocca warned that COVID-19 has caused “threadbare social safety nets for migrants and refugees to snap.” In Turkey for example, recent IFRC and Turkish Red Crescent polling has found that nearly seven out of 10 refugee families surveyed have lost employment while a staggering four out of five families have seen their household debts balloon to near intolerable levels. Mr Rocca was speaking at the launch of a new IFRC policy report that looks specifically at the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and refugees. The report – Least protected, most affected: migrants and refugees facing extraordinary risks during the COVID-19 pandemic – documents the rising vulnerabilities of these groups over the past six months, while noting that the existing challenges faced by migrants have been exacerbated and risks to health and safety increased as a result of the pandemic. The report contains a number of recommendations for governments on how COVID-19 responses can best keep everyone safe, including by ensuring the policies introduced to control the pandemic are not used to justify inhumane treatment of migrants and refugees. President Rocca said: “(These measures) must not impact the ability of people to seek asylum or force people to return to situations of danger and harm. In some countries, we have seen the principle of non-refoulement being discounted. Stopping the virus is in everyone's interest: how each country treats and supports the most vulnerable will affect how the virus spreads and how well the country recovers from the pandemic.” Download the report: Least protected, most affected: migrants and refugees facing extraordinary risks during the COVID-19 pandemic (PDF, 5.7 MB)

by Olivia Acosta It has been more than five months since the borders were closed in Guatemala and a considerable number of people in transit have been blocked inside the country. The situation is a challenge for Guatemala since many of the migrants must resort to finding jobs or generating economic activities in the country, in order to survive. In most cases, migrants are forced to live in local villages near border points, which is also a challenge in terms of harmonious coexistence between local people and migrants. Most of them have economic difficulties and they take risk by leaving their countries looking for a better life. Their transit through Central America is always very complex, but now with the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, everything has become even more difficult and they rely on the support from organizations such as the Red Cross to solve some of their needs. This is the case of Hosni Contreras, a Nicaraguan who was trapped in Petén, Guatemala, after the borders were closed, and two months ago was hit by a vehicle. "The Guatemalan Red Cross helped me in my recovery process. Now I feel much better, I can walk without crutches," says Hosni. As part of the response to support people like Hosni, one of the main projects implemented by the Guatemalan Red Cross since 2014 takes place at the departments of Petén, Chiquimula and San Marcos. The project is carried out in coordination with UNHCR and seeks to generate actions to strengthen capacities at institutional level related to assistance and protection for migrants; referral actions to relevant institutions for protection cases; development of communications (Restoration of Family Links, RFL); and activation of awareness and protection processes in transit communities. So far, more than 47,000 people have been assisted. Thirty volunteers work on the project. The Guatemalan Red Cross has been carrying out permanent training activities for volunteers to respond in the context of COVID-19. “We want our volunteers to be safe, without the risk of getting infected, and to know how to work better to support migrants," says Hector. The Guatemalan Red Cross is doing an important work to inform this population about the virus and to promote prevention measures. "We do this work in the communities, and produce didactic material to share something attractive for them to become familiar with the messages. Also, we have done an important work from communication with social networks and other channels to reach them with messages in an efficient way," says Hector. The work that the National Society has been undertaking has focused primarily on generating sustainable processes, which has involved the active participation of communities. "It is a very intense work that we have been developing over the years. We have generated mechanisms that have changed behaviors. We have seen that the perception of the local people has been transformed, and they are even helping migrants on their own". In this sense, the Guatemalan Red Cross works to develop sustained processes to identify the needs of migrants. "We do this in three ways: one is through direct assistance: since migrants enter Guatemala we establish communication with them. The second one is through dialogue with key actors in the communities. By spending more time in the communities, we have more time to talk with them, to generate trust, and people tell us about their concerns. And also, we are working with the government to generate a systematic record from the feedback we get from them.” With the arrival of the pandemic, the Guatemalan Red Cross has been adapting its processes according to the evolution of different scenarios. The project has been developed during three years and will continue to be executed towards 2021. "We don't really know exactly how we will be working in two months since the situation is constantly changing, but we will continue with all our efforts to support the migrants," says Hector.

by Melissa Monzon Santa Cruz, August 10, 10:00am. Magdalena gets ready for the arduous day. The situation room is activated. Today, volunteers and staff from the Bolivian Red Cross – Santa Cruz branch will be starting with the mission: to accompany the transportation of three trucks that will carry oxygen to different hospitals in the departments of Cochabamba, Oruro and La Paz. In Bolivia, cases of COVID-19 have been increasing in the last weeks, and in many hospitals, there is a shortage of oxygen. This is why this mission is so important. But it won’t be an easy one, there have been blockades in different parts of the country for days, so getting the caravan to its destination requires great coordination efforts. “The role that each volunteer has played in the operation has been very important, in dialogue with communities. Demonstrating the impartiality and neutrality of the organization and giving the population that confidence that the Red Cross was in a humanitarian mission.”, says Magdalena Choque, head of the team for the humanitarian convoy of the Bolivian Red Cross – Santa Cruz branch. “From the planning area we begun to develop the action plan, the security plan, the risk analysis, in accordance with the operation. A monitoring and logistics teams was activated, and a suitable and trained team was formed for this operation. Also, the monitoring area coordinated with the Cochabamba branch to give continuity to the humanitarian convoy”, she adds. Cochabamba, August 12, 04:00 am. Karla Vogt is awake early, monitoring that the transfer occurs withing security parameters. As the focal point of Safer Access, she ensures that the mission is carried out correctly, taking care of the safety of those who participate in it. It is already 17:00hrs., and the Santa Cruz branch is about to arrive at the meeting point to make the change with the Cochabamba branch; here, other volunteers and staff will take over to continue the journey until the oxygen is delivered to where it is needed. “One of the biggest challenges that we had was to maintain a constant coordination and monitoring; coordination with different organizations and government entities, to avoid subsequent risks. Demonstrating our humanitarian mission, and above all, respect for our fundamental principles, which allowed us to start dialogues and conversations at points of blockage.”, says Karla. “The branches and volunteers in the field have been able to adapt to the different changes, to a tense and difficult situation, and have been able to apply all the principles already instilled. The Bolivian Red Cross has been able to enhance these virtues in the volunteers and that is something very remarkable.” In total, there were more than 28 people, including volunteers and staff, who accompanied the caravan, throughout the six days since it left the city of Santa Cruz until it reached La Paz. The caravan transported 66 tons of oxygen, which supplied hospitals in different parts of the country. Coordination between five branches of the Bolivian Red Cross – Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Oruro and La Paz – allowed that this to be achieved. It wasn’t an easy job, but everyone was convinced of the importance of the operation. “The volunteers and staff were the guardians of that key element to save lives at this time. I think we all had this in mind and put all the efforts, and all our hearts and all our knowledge and skills to achieve the goal”, concludes Karla.

By Lotte Ruppert COVID-19 does not discriminate, but the pandemic has disproportionately impacted certain vulnerable communities. Migrants and refugees face particularly large risks, due to language barriers, limited access to public services and a larger reliance on informal labour. Each has diverse perceptions, fears and opinions that we, as a humanitarian community, must address if we want to see this pandemic end. For Turkey, a country that hosts the largest refugee population in the world (over 4 million from places like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran), this presents a unique challenge. How do you engage people with diverse languages, cultures and communication preferences, all while adhering to strict movement restrictions to curb the pandemic? Despite the impressive efforts from governmental and humanitarian actors, our impact assessment from April 2020 showed that almost one-quarter (23 per cent) of refugee households did not feel like they were receiving enough reliable information about COVID-19. In response, Turkish Red Crescent and IFRC have ramped up their efforts to listen and engage with refugees in Turkey during the COVID-19 outbreak. Here are three lessons we learned about how to engage with communities at a large scale through the EU-funded Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), the largest cash programme globally. Lesson 1: Use a wide variety of communication channels Everyone communicates differently. In ESSN, we rely on a range of different channels to allow people to speak with us in a way that they prefer and trust, including Facebook, regular SMSs and our toll-free Call Centre, where all operators have been trained to respond to COVID-19 related concerns and to provide hygiene advice or updates related to ESSN. But these remote communication channels are not enough. Refugees in Turkey have expressed their preference to share more sensitive concerns and complaints during private face-to-face conversations. Our nine Service Centres, spread across Turkey, have remained fully operational in order to provide information and support to people during the COVID-19 outbreak, with robust measures to ensure the safety of both its staff and visitors. This approach has been crucial to building trust. Lesson 2: Do not ignore rumours “I have an ESSN card but I saw on Facebook that my monthly cash assistance will soon be ended. What is the reason for that?” asked a refugee recently via our call centre. This “fear rumour” reflects the anxieties of refugees living in Turkey that ESSN may end. Another refugee family shared: “We are currently receiving ESSN cash assistance, but we have seen on YouTube that Turkish Red Crescent will now also give us rent assistance due to the impact of COVID-19”. This is a clear “wish rumour”, reflecting the hope of refugees for more support during these difficult times. The spread of such misinformation and rumours has always been a challenge for ESSN. But we learned that during the COVID-19 pandemic – a time of increased insecurity and stress – it is even more important for us to monitor the appearance and spread of misinformation. The best defence is to prevent rumours before they start. We share regular information updates, getting accurate, trusted information into people’s hands before rumours have a chance to emerge. When rumours and misinformation do surface, we quickly counter false stories with verified information and ensure the news stories or posts are removed online. We encourage the people we work for to participate too by sharing verified, trustworthy information within their community. Lesson 3: Responding to incoming questions, feedback and complaints alone is not enough. Reach out proactively to the most vulnerable households While actively reaching out to every one of the millions of refugees living in Turkey is practically impossible, Turkish Red Crescent has made thousands of outbound calls, contacting the most vulnerable households. This includes families required not to leave their homes for some weeks due to a mandatory curfew, including anyone over 65 as well as people with disabilities. This proactive approach enabled people to share all their questions and concerns with us, including sensitive issues or requests for additional support. Depending on the specific needs and concerns raised, Turkish Red Crescent has referred some of these people to other services, such as the national COVID-19 emergency hotline, the social assistance services provided by the Turkish Government, and specialized services from other humanitarian actors, including protection actors. Conclusion In Turkey, now more than ever, we must continue to build more meaningful relationships with communities and act on people’s concerns and suggestions. COVID-19 has challenged the way we as a humanitarian sector work, but it has also allowed us to find more innovative solutions to listen to refugees and respond to their needs. More about the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) Home to more than 4 million refugees, Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world. Most of them are Syrians, fleeing a conflict that has been ongoing for nine years. With funding from the European Union, Turkish Red Crescent and IFRC are able to provide monthly cash assistance to the most vulnerable families through the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN). Over 1.7 million refugees benefit from this assistance, enabling them to cover some of their basic needs, including food, rent and utilities, every month. This article covers humanitarian aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Kuala Lumpur, Cox’s Bazar, Geneva, 24 August 2020: New data reveals that nearly one in five (17.9%) people being treated for medical conditions in displacement camps in Cox’s Bazar are already experiencing some form of lung disease as COVID-19 spreads in one of the most densely populated places on earth. Three years on from a mass exodus triggered by violence on 25 August 2017, close to 1 million people displaced from Rakhine, Myanmar, also face many other chronic health conditions, including malnutrition and diarrhea, in overcrowded camps. Syed Ali Nasim Khaliluzzaman, Head of Operation of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society in the Population Movement Operation in Cox’s Bazar, said: “My greatest fear is that high and unacceptable rates of acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malnutrition, all make families more at risk of COVID-19.” To date, there have only been 82 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths reported among the population of displaced people living in the camps. But concerns remain high, and these figures may not tell the whole story. “The true extent of the COVID-19 outbreak is unclear due to some challenges with the testing capacity and participation by people in the services and health facilities available in the camps. Red Crescent volunteers are going door to door to provide people with lifesaving information and protective equipment to stay safe from the disease,” Mr Syed Ali Nasim Khaliluzzaman said. Despite the serious health concerns, there have been hard fought gains in the past three years. as chronic health conditions including unexplained fever, diarrhoea and other infectious diseases have reduced, according to World Health Organization figures, despite some of the harshest living conditions in the world. The figures show that intense public health measures and boosted access to limited medical care have succeeded in containing many serious diseases including diphtheria and measles. The rate of unexplained fever reported in health clinics is nine times less than three years ago at the height of the mass movement of people fleeing violence. Sanjeev Kumar Kafley, Head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) sub-office in Cox’s Bazar said: “Every day we see the remarkable strength and resilience of people who live in these camps. It doesn’t ring true that there have only been around 82 identified cases of COVID-19. We are very concerned that there may be many more people sick and infected.” “We have two new COVID-19 isolation and treatment centers treating people along with 11 existing health facilities, all helping to close the gap in critical medical care,” Mr Kafley said. Bangladesh Red Crescent teams, supported by the IFRC and other partners, are providing critical ongoing healthcare, relief supplies including safe water, longer-term support for more secure homes, along with protection and support for women and those most at risk. The relief operations are among the biggest ever in the region.

By Melissa Monzon Luis Luis was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Two years ago, he decided to leave his country, seeking for a better quality of life. He started his trip by bus, because he didn’t have all the documents to travel by plane. “When I arrived in Cucuta, I found the Red Cross, they gave me a kit with help for the road, because the trip was very long; I was traveling to Medellin”. Once in Medellin, he worked there for eight months, and then started his way to Lima, Peru. The road was not what he expected, once in Ecuador he encountered a series of protests and when he couldn´t continue with his trip, he had to stay two days in the station waiting to be able to take the bus to continue his journey. “When I arrived in Guayaquil, I once again found a Red Cross tent, they help us all, they gave us a food kit, things for personal care and medicine”, says Luis. Then he continued his route until he arrived in Lima. Once in Lima, a friend offered him a job selling food. “I worked hard every day, we had several problems, but we persisted, working in an exhausting schedule”. However, due to the pandemic, he could no longer continue working. “As I worked on the streets, with COVID-19 we couldn´t work anymore. It hit us pretty hard, because that was our only income”. Luis has a bicycle, and now that Peru is opening up some economic activities, he is already looking for a job, offering his home delivery service. “As I am a migrant, I don´t have a subsidy from the government. For this reason, every day, I go to the markets, looking constantly for a job, I hope to find it soon”, says Luis. Yudi A year and seven months ago Yudi came from Venezuela to Peru with her family, seeking a better quality of life. In order to be able to make the trip, they sold everything they had. Peru was their destination since the beginning, as they heard that they were handing out the temporary residence permit, with which they could work and earn a living legally and honestly, as she tells us. “My daughter has epilepsy, this also made us take the decision to migrate. We needed to go to a place, to a country where they could offer her medical care and get the medicines that she so badly needs.” Before Yudi traveled, her brother and nephews had already arrived. After they proved that they felt Good here, Yudi traveled with her sister, her two sons and her two dogs, who are also part of the family. Once in Lima, Yudi worked as a tutor for online courses until November 2019. Due to the pandemic, her sister and son were also unemployed; her nephews, who had a food business, had to close it. “The situation is quite uncertain, we don´t know what will happen”, says Yudi. Jesus Jesus came from Venezuela to Peru four years ago. His trip was by bus, because he didn´t had enough money to travel by plane. He first arrived in Ecuador, where he stayed for two months, and then arrived in Peru in 2016. “When I arrived, everything seemed nice to me, although I didn´t knew many things, I felt out of place, I was only twenty years old. I lived in one room and shared a bathroom with sixteen people. I worked as a waiter in a restaurant; until today I am very grateful to those people because I didn’t have the documents at that time, and they always treated me well”, says Jesus, who already knows the city today, has Peruvian friends and colleagues, and tell us that thanks to them he has been able to learn more about the country’s culture. Eventually he moved to an apartment and went from waiter to manager of a restaurant. “I met very nice, spectacular people, they gave me a lot of support, I learned a lot of things, because when I left Venezuela, I was a student, I didn’t have work experience.” Due to the pandemic, Jesus no longer has a job because the restaurant where he used to work decided to close. “I lost my job; it was alarming because I lived alone. I was worried, but happily I had contact with some friends who decided to move in with me.” Jesus tells us that another great concern of not earning an income is not being able to send money back to his mom and dad who live in Venezuela. He, like so many other migrants, is a source of income for all those families who stayed in their countries. “I try to see the positive things in everything. When the quarantine begun, I tried to organize myself a little more, I sold some stuff, and I tried different things to distract myself, I tried to do exercise a lot, pray a lot, watch the news and communicate with my family in Venezuela.” Pedro* Pedro left from Venezuela to Colombia a year and a half ago searching for work, while his wife Maria, traveled to Peru. After two months, they met each other in the latter country. Once in Peru, Pedro worked in a restaurant. “It was very difficult because I have never worked in a kitchen before, but I did my best, my wife was pregnant at the time. I always tried to do my best, until I was stabled at my job. I worked hard, obtaining each of the things that I have today in my home, and helping my family in Venezuela, where I have two children. Fighting every day for the welfare of my family”, says Pedro. In the context of the pandemic, Pedro lost his job. In one of his wife’s pregnancy test, they test him for HIV, the result tested positive. “I have been very pleased with the treatment they have given me; I have received excellent attention and information. I am very grateful with the hospital, with its staff, with the help here in Peru, they have helped us a lot. They have given me pills, information, everything I needed”. Despite his degree of vulnerability, Pedro has gone out to work on the streets, as he is the livelihood of his family both in Peru and in Venezuela. “I have gone out but taking all the preventive measures, with my mask and my hand sanitizer. I need to go out to work, especially for the baby who needs food”. “I am very grateful to be in Peru, and I continue with great desire to continue working and fighting for my family, and for those we love the most, to help my children in Venezuela, and we will be here until God allows it, and then to be able to return to our country someday and to enjoy our people”, concludes Pedro. ------------- Luis, Yudi, Jesus y Pedro are some of the people who are part of the Cash and Voucher Assistance program implemented in Peru by the Red Cross with the support of the European Union. This program is aimed at families in a vulnerable condition, who have been left without financial support due to the pandemic. As part of the program, families receive a card with an economic amount to cover their basic needs. In the testimonies collected, the families have shared with us that the card has allowed them to cover expenses mainly for rent, food and health. *This name was changed to protect the person who kindly gave us his testimony.

Ankara, Turkey (19 August 2020): Syrian refugees and Turkish people are coming together to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey and around the world. Since the pandemic began, over 120 volunteers and community members across Turkey have mobilized to produce more than 1.2 million masks to help people protect themselves from COVID-19. Since 2015, Turkish Red Crescent, has been playing a crucial role in bringing Turkish and Syrian people together through its 16 community centres which 15 are them financed by the European Union. These centres are increasing livelihood opportunities, providing community-based health and first aid, giving psychosocial support. Nearly 251,805 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Turkey since March, but cases are now lower since a spike in April. Although restrictions have begun to ease in the country, masks remain mandatory to help curb new infections. Through the sewing courses offered in the community centres, refugee and Turkish communities began producing masks after seeing the massive demand for personal protective equipment. The mask production first started in Gaziantep, one of the most important textile manufacturing centres in Turkey and expanded quickly to other cities. Volunteers are also producing masks specifically for people with disabilities. The masks have a transparent front, which helps people who are deaf-mute communicate easily. Turkish Red Crescent has sent masks and PPE items to 40 countries including Georgia, Uganda, Tajikistan and many others since the pandemic started. Around 250,000 people receive support from the Turkish Red Crescent community centres every year with the support from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and funding from the European Union as part of its refugee response in Turkey.

By Fernando Gandarillas. Paraguay has the third highest incidence of dengue fever in the region. This is the third year in a row where there has been an intense outbreak of the disease. In 2020, the country has had the highest number of cases in its history (over 220,000 cases) and 73 people have died. The cities most affected are Asunción, Mariano, Limpio and Capiatá. The Paraguayan Red Cross has been working since the beginning of the year to support to the emergency in these locations; with the support of the IFRC they implemented dengue response projects reaching 1,280 families. The actions focused on generating educational activities for prevention, hygiene and sanitation, as well as the delivery of protection and hygiene kits. These activities suffered serious complications for their implementation with the appearance of the COVID-19 in the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the dengue work. "Due to mobility restrictions and social distancing measures, we were unable to continue with the activities we were carrying out in the communities," said Magali Paredes, Health Officer for Dengue and COVID-19 of the Paraguayan Red Cross. Much of the work with the community was done through community meetings, where workshops were used to share information. One of the most important tasks was the creation of community brigades to work on the prevention and response to dengue outbreaks at the local level. Some of the families living in affected areas work in garbage recycling. Many of the recycled items are stored by people in their backyards or in places close to where they live. This is where rainwater collects and where mosquito breeding takes place. Because of this direct link to people's ability to have income, the Red Cross projects were aimed at informing and training community members on how to prevent the spread of mosquito larvae without affecting economic activity. "We felt that there was always an important involvement and interest from community members because they knew that we are aware of this and that we want to work with them to find solutions," said Magali. Another piece of the work that the Paraguayan Red Cross has been doing focused on 12 schools in these cities. They work with children to teach them about dengue prevention measures. But, when the isolation measures were adopted, the children stopped going to school. Due to these circumstances the Red Cross is working to generate a process of training teachers. The Red Cross included a COVID-19 component in community actions since the outbreak of the virus. The creation of community brigades has been key to disseminating information and promoting prevention actions for both dengue and the new coronavirus. In addition, community surveillance mechanisms were created that involve coordinated work between community members and the local Family Health Unit (local public health care point) so that people can report, without fear of being discriminated against, if they have been in contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or if they have been seriously exposed to the virus. "Many times people do not want to report their health condition, if they are showing symptoms or if they have been in contact with people with COVID-19 because they feel observed," said Magali. The Red Cross has worked as an intermediary between the community and this state entity to facilitate conditions that create security for informants. The National Society is working to share information around COVID-19 and dengue fever at the same time. The work carried out by the Paraguayan Red Cross has been sustained with the active participation of dozens of volunteers. One of the most important results of the project has been to achieve empowerment of the people in the affected communities.

Johannesburg/Geneva, 7 August 2020 – A senior Red Cross official has warned that South Africa needed to learn lessons from the country’s fight against HIV/AIDS to help curb the rise in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19, as the number crossed the half a million mark on 1 August 2020. South Africa is the worst affected nation on the African continent, and currently has the fifth highest number of people testing positive worldwide, after the United States, Brazil, India and Russia. Dr Michael Charles, the Head of the Southern Africa Country Cluster office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said: “This is a time to look back and look at the experiences of the past. South Africa was really the epicentre for HIV/AIDS, and we learnt so much from it. Yes it took a while before we could get it up and running in terms of our prevention methods, in terms of stigma, and these are the examples and the lessons learnt that we can bring to the fight against COVID.” South Africa’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed on 5 March 2020. When the cases doubled every two days in the following three weeks, the country imposed an early lockdown, slowing the transmission. However, following the decision to ease the lockdown in July, the country has seen an exponential rise in cases, causing worldwide concern as it rapidly rose up the ranks of the world’s COVID-19 tally. As of yesterday (5 August), South Africa had reported almost 530,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and almost 10,000 deaths. Last week, a record 572 deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours. These figures have confounded analysts who cannot explain the high rise in numbers but relatively low numbers in death. South Africa has a far lower death toll than other countries that have fewer confirmed cases, for example the UK. Masks are still mandatory, strict government guidelines have been issued for hygiene practices on public transport like taxis, social distancing is promoted in all public spaces, bars and shebeens (informal drinking spots in townships) remain closed and gatherings like funerals prohibit more than 50 people at a time. Despite these measures, however, many South Africans within and outside the hotspots flout government prescriptions, with community feedback indicating that many believe the virus not to be real or not likely to affect them. Stigma is an ongoing challenge, with humanitarian actors quoting behaviour similar to that seen during the AIDS pandemic, when people would rather not test, than know they have COVID-19 and be stigmatised or ostracised. The IFRC’s Dr Charles said: “It is really our responsibility to stop stigmatising people who have COVID, stop harassing people within the communities because of COVID, and it’s time for us to get together and fight the cause together. It is only then that we can say that we are winning the fight. At the moment unfortunately we are not winning it because our numbers are going up and up but am sure that once we change our attitude, once we bring the lessons learnt from the past, that is when we will start to see the numbers go down.” Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the South African Red Cross has partnered with the Department of Health to support in screening, testing and contact tracing in key hotspot areas. Ongoing parallel hygiene promotion and behavior change messaging accompany all Red Cross activities to increase health awareness among the general public and targeted communities. Media Communication and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities have been rolled out to the affected and non-affected communities by Red Cross volunteers. During lockdown, the Red Cross has been providing food to homeless people and other highly affected groups, with a focus on people living in informal settlements.

By Melissa Monzon Andres Yares has been a volunteer for the Peruvian Red Cross over seventeen years, and since 2019 he has been supporting as a nurse in health activities directed at migrants. “In 2019 I started working in this project, helping in the community health days. We visited many districts on the outskirts of Lima, where there were not only migrants, but also local people in great need, and we gave medical attention to everyone”, says Andres. “For me it is important to work with migrants because they are people who, in addition to not being in their country, have many unmet needs. Many of them do not have access to health care or have had to stop their treatments because a medical appointment was too expensive for them. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru has kept his borders closed from March 16 to date. Hundreds of migrants who were on transit have been unable to leave the country. Also, many of them who are already established in the country have run out of sources of income, so they cannot cover expenses such as rent. A large percentage of these migrants don’t have access to the Peruvian health system, and in a context such as COVID-19, they are left unprotected, increasing their health risks. For this reason, since April 03, the Red Cross has been providing health care in different shelters in various districts of Lima, the capital of Peru, which is home to approximately 80% Venezuelan migrants who are in the country. Since March, the community health days had to take a turn, since the country was quarantined for more than three months. So, Andres, together with the project team, began visiting different shelters where migrants and refuge applicants of nationalities stayed. “Something that stands out a lot of my work, beyond the medical care, is be able to share, talk with them, about their needs, concerns, and to understand the way how they see things and their customs. In my work I talk to many people and that has left a mark on me. In the shelters we have given medical attention to people from different countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, Nigeria. It’s incredible to see how, if you want, you can communicate with everyone, and get to know them. We communicated with people who didn’t speak Spanish by signs, or with a translation app from the cell phone. That way you could make them feel love and affection and they were very grateful”, says Andres who today works giving information about COVID-19 through the WhatsApp Line that the Red Cross has implemented in Peru. From April to date, the Red Cross, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has provided more than 500 health services in shelters located in six districts of Lima, Peru, as well as health information, with emphasis on preventive measures against COVID-19.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact around the world, including a major economic gap that many families are struggling to overcome. For refugees, COVID-19 is only exacerbating already existing vulnerabilities, losing the little income they earn and forcing them to cut down on food, medicine and other basic needs. A survey conducted by Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) and IFRC among 500 refugees showed that 70 per cent lost their livelihoods since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Turkey. This, combined with almost 80 per cent reported an increase in expenses, had left them with the frequently referred option of borrowing money to meet their basic needs. In order to address the COVID-19 socio-economic impact, more than 1.7 million refugees living in Turkey are receiving additional cash assistance through European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) funded Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) implemented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the TRC. This marks the largest single cash transfer in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s history, totalling EUR 46.4 million. Each family will receive an additional 1,000 Turkish Lira, approximately EUR 128. This is not an added grant, rather reallocated funds from the existing ESSN budget, funded by the EU. This is part of the Federation-wide emergency appeal for 1,9 billion Swiss francs to help the world’s most vulnerable communities halt the spread of COVID-19 and recover from its effects. “Because of the coronavirus, our expenses have increased for water, electricity and cleaning products,” said Hanan, a Syrian refugee who fled the war to come to Turkey in 2014. “The Kizilaykart helps me with house expenses, such as food, cleaning materials and other expenses.” “We are mentally exhausted… This period has exhausted us,” added one refugee receiving support from the ESSN. The additional cash assistance has taken place over June and July, followed by a regular quarterly cash top-up in August, enabling vulnerable refugee families to overcome the constraints imposed by COVID-19 during this difficult transition period. “Many people are in survival mode - living hand to mouth during COVID-19. This cash assistance has been a lifeline, allowing them to provide for themselves and their families,” said Jonathan Brass, IFRC’s operations manager for the ESSN in Turkey. “Cash, particular in times like COVID-19, provides immediate and flexible aid for families to prioritize their needs. It gives them a sense of security, certainty and confidence that their children will not go hungry.” Cash assistance stands as one of the most efficient ways to support vulnerable communities due to its quick, safe and reliable delivery. Because the cash is being sent to refugees via the digital banking system, it also limits the risk of infection to those we serve. Additionally, cash increases investments in local markets, supports host communities which may also negatively affected by COVID-19 and give freedom and flexibility to families to meet their own individual needs. Learn more about ESSN here. This article covers humanitarian aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

By Olivia Acosta. Gina Mejia is 27 years old, an architect by profession, and has been a volunteer with the Mexican Red Cross for three years in Mexico City, the country's capital, a city with a population of nearly nine million. According to Gina, she has always felt the impulse to support those who need it most: "I have always had the spark to help and on many occasions, when I was working as an architect on construction sites, I thought: if I have an accident, I really wouldn't know how to act to help the injured person". And that is how she decided to join the Red Cross and started first aid training. She has even given courses in her company and always makes her colleagues and friends aware of the importance of first aid. Later, she joined "Volunteers on Wheels", a solidarity programme that she carries out together with other 20 volunteer colleagues, travelling all over the city by motorbike. "I have my own bike and the programme consists of going around different areas of the city, together with other volunteers, to support the people who need it most. For example, we distribute bread and coffee in the hospitals and slums, or we distribute toys to children from poor families. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything changed, including the "Volunteers on Wheels" programme in which Gina participates: "At the Red Cross, we quickly identified the need to provide information and protective measures to the population, especially to people with few resources who spend a lot of time on the street, such as street food vendors". And so she and her colleagues began to ride their motorcycles around the city, this time to take the temperature in the markets, distribute masks (or "mouth covers" as they say in Mexico) and hydroalcoholic gels, as well as offer truthful information and advice on how to protect themselves against the virus. Initially, many people didn't wear masks because they didn't really know how important it was to protect themselves against the pandemic. According to Gina: "We realized that a lot of awareness raising was needed to explain to people the importance of protecting themselves against COVID-19 and to offer protective measures. The Mexican Red Cross is a reference organization in the country and we noticed that if we were the ones who advised them to wear a mask or respect distances, they would listen to us," she says proudly. The volunteers of the Mexican Red Cross protect themselves with all the protective measures they need to carry out their work safely. And they know where to go to help those who need it most. In addition to crowded areas such as hospitals and markets, one of the points on her route is the "Glorieta de Insurgentes". There are palapas that offer access to wifi and it is an area where many people with few resources gather, which means a high risk of contagion. Many of these people live on the streets. According to Gina: "It's very nice to see how homeless people come to us to ask for masks and ask us about how to protect themselves against the pandemic. Many of them ask us for more than one, because at the beginning there was a shortage and also they cannot buy them, and they are very grateful when we give them the masks and they can put them on". "For me, being able to help at this time, even if it seems like a small thing, is very important, and now I know that the work of Red Cross volunteers is crucial in a situation like this," concludes Gina. Now more than ever, she says, it is clear to her that she will stay with the Red Cross forever.

Randa El Ozeir: One of the greatest challenges is to live a lonely fortnight on the lookout for your body vital functions undeviatingly, stranded in a tiny apartment situated in a bustling, lively, and populous city. In a heart-to-heart interview that delved into his story of contracting COVID-19, Mostafa Refaat Nagy, the Youth Representative Board member in the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) at Dakahlia Branch and the volunteer in Central Operation Room in the ERCS’ headquarters in Cairo, recounted how the hours of the 14 days passed full of worry and apprehensiveness. “I stayed home with absolutely no human contact for fear of transmitting the infection to others. I spent my time alternating between awakening and slumbering, swept by waves of obsession and frightfulness while monitoring my symptoms’ progress day in day out. Have I had an increase of coughs today? Has my body temperature gone higher? Am I going to wake up to a temperature exceeding 38 degrees Celsius? I measured my temperature three to four times daily. And I was often wondering if what I was experiencing would be considered within the normal range or have things escalated”. The quarantine period for Nagy in Cairo went by with him isolating himself from his parents and colleagues, exclusively relying on the Emotional Support Team in the ERCS. He said, “I didn’t want to get my parents worried, so I cancelled my weekly visit to their house, as well as refraining from spreading the news among my colleagues in the Society, excluding my superiors. I didn’t want for the colleagues who kept on doing their field missions to be held back by their leader’s infection, namely the younger group. I received a daily follow-up call from the Emotional Support Team that helped me to hang in there. They were my lifejacket, and I know well the primordial role of the emotional state during the isolation. At times, boredom started to take hold of me with their frequent calls, but I was grateful. They saved me from frustration and excessive anxiety and lifted my spirits. Also, they swiftly provided me with prevention measures, such as face masks. It was an extremely awful feeling that I wouldn’t wish it on anyone”. Even after recovering and going back to work, Nagy feels the scare with every on-the-ground mission. He resorts to his inner voice to regain self-control and leans on protection measures and safety guidelines. He believes that “the team and group spirit strengthens us when we are working with people. My life is devoted to ERCS and I give it my all. With the time, we became more vigilant in our behaviours and actions and left behind any carelessness that puts us at risk. The situation has changed now, and I grew to be more concerned about myself and my team. We certainly know that we are at risk given the nature of our job, even if we get it (contracting the virus) by chance. We realize our true message when serving the people in need, however small that service could be. It is not about delivering aid boxes or sterilizing tools, it is also about offering others a sense of reassurance our uniform radiates whenever we are present”. In a hindsight, Nagy remembered how the ERCS was prepared for the worst case scenario since the onset of COVID-19. The ERCS, via its Central Operation Room, has embarked on monitoring and tracking the very first cases, including the mild ones. It has focused as well on awareness and sterilizing campaigns, aid interventions, distribution of disinfectants and personal hygiene stuff, and provision of food for the poor communities in the capital city and throughout all the country’s governorates with no exception. He said, “the ERCS visits the hospitals to support the medical teams and deliver thank-you notes. I was able, through my job in the Board at Dakahlia Branch, to closely understand the needs and concerns of the youth volunteers. And I coordinated between the volunteer field teams and the Central Operation Room”. The ERCS doesn’t have any shortage in the number of volunteers or the individuals who are willing to volunteer. Gearing up the energetic youth volunteers with the indispensable equipment and tools and offering them the required training to properly perform their job are what the ERCS actually need. “There is an increasing demand now with COVID-19 for equipping hospitals and setting field hospitals in many places, such as Al-Fayoum, Ismailia, and Ash Sharqia”, explained Nagy, “we only have one mobile clinic so far, but the situation calls for much more than this. Whatever is available for us, we would need more, particularly to respond to the necessities of the African, Syrian, and other refugee communities. We are perhaps the only party that provides them with services along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)”.

They were perhaps two thousand stranded Syria returnees. Women, children and men sheltering from the unbearable heat and sun, on hill tops, under the scattered olive trees offering no shadow, carrying half empty jerrycans with water and waving at cars asking for help. This is not a scene from a Hollywood movie. This is at the No-Man’s-Land zone between the Syrian Lebanese borders; a stretch of a few kilometresin which people are stuck in the COVID-19 politics or the legal meanders of return. As if the 9 years of an unrelenting conflict, homelessness, and agony in all forms were not enough. Regardless of root causes as to what got people here, it encapsulates the cruelty of war and the pandemic. A few days ago, I traveledto Syria from Lebanon by land, crossing a border closed for citizens but open for humanitarian organizations including the Red Cross and Red Crescent personnel. I saw the same people in the same place under the scorching sun several days later on my way back after visiting Damascus. Some have had their legal entry sorted out. Others are still out there sleeping under the open sky. As I write, my colleagues in Syria are looking for ways to assist those that may still be stranded. Syrians are now hit by another wave of suffering: economic collapse, sanctions, hyperinflation, rising unemployment, businesses that barely survived the conflict are now shutting down, more hunger with families skipping meals, and shortages of medicine. The devaluation of the local currency, the constraints and the blockage of international transfer of money are driving Syrians to extreme poverty. Syrian sons and daughters living abroad are experiencing serious challenges to send the 100 or 200 dollars, to parents who are still living in Syria. The impact is catastrophic. Concretely, what does this mean? It means, your 70-year-old mother, will no longer have a decent meal because she can’t afford it. It means, your 80-year-old father is no longer able to buy the asthma medication he needs for his survival. It means that daughters and sons, naturally tending to their elderly parents needs as part of a safety net that functioned well for centuries, are no longer able to meet their deeply rooted duties. It means that even emotionally and psychologically, Syrians are affected to the very core of their identity and dignity. My message is not a political one, it is purely humanitarian. We at the Red Cross and Red Crescent have a neutral stance about the sanctions. We work as humanitarians to make sure that people are not suffering and dying because of lack of basic needs such as medicines, food or water. Innocent people in Syria are paying the price of failed diplomacy, and unnecessarily suffer daily. During my visit, I heard a common and sad “joke.” Many Syrians told me: Either we die of hunger, of war, or we die of COVID-19. It doesn’t matter.” In between the conversations, people asked: Can you send us coffee? Can you send us Tabascosauce? These things don’t make it to Syria anymore. One might think these items are luxuries. Well, we believe that preserving human dignity matters. In Damascus, I met the dedicated leadership of the Syria Arab Red Crescent (SARC) the volunteers and the staff who joined SARC to help their people. COVID-19 didn’t stop them. The message “Stay Home” does not mean much to them because their job is to be with their communities, in the streets, in the ambulances, in the camps for refugees and the internally displaced. I also visited the SARC Damascus branch; A nine-story building where each floor has a specific function. I started with the Emergency Response Teams on the ninth floor. I met young women team leaders and their volunteer teams who run the emergency calls and the ambulance dispatch. I asked them what was their number one concern? They said the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). They must rationalize the PPEs and reuse them between the different teams. They send the PPEs to sterilization in between missions and sometimes, as a new emergency call kicks in, the PPEs are not sterilized yet. So, some take the risk of wearing utilized PPEs. Some can’t take the risk as they have children and families at home. With some 11,000 SARC volunteers at work across the country our current PPE supplies and resources are being exhausted at high speed. I visited the physical rehabilitation and prostheses center. I saw young children, young woman and men trying to make prosthesis fit. They have been disabled by the war and trying to bounce back. Some smiled to me, some didn’t, and some cried in silence. I visited another floor that hosts the dialyses unit. I met with the young doctors who are running between the fully packed beds with dialysis patients. They talked about the lack of spare parts, lack of filters for the dialysis machine, the maintenance needed, the inability of the patients to access the facility because of the conflict. I was left wondering how many have died lacking access to such lifesaving units? Another floor was being converted to provide ICU capacity as the anticipated COVID-19 waves begin to hit. I salute SARC, its dedicated volunteers, its managers, its doctors, its nurses, and its leaders who are doing their very best to deliver humanitarian aid in one of the most complex crisis that I have ever experienced in my 32 years of humanitarian work. I walked out of the SARC headquarters and paused at the main doors next to a wall displaying the names of the 62 staff and volunteers who lost their lives in line of duty to save others. Thank you! I also managed to meet Syrian officials to discuss and agree on increased access, with UN and ICRC colleagues to better coordinate and expand the work. Serious international diplomacy efforts are needed to halt the suffering and address the challenges that Syrians face every single day including but not limited to COVID-19. Increased humanitarian funding and ceasefires will allow us more access, save more lives, and simply offer more protection to people. We, as humanitarians we will continue doing our part to alleviate the suffering; It will not be enough. An urgent, just, and durable political solution is needed.