The number of people fleeing conflict or violence but remaining within their own countries has reached an all-time high. 8.5 million new displacements resulting from conflict or violence were recorded in 2019. Another 25 million were triggered by disasters such as cyclones and hurricanes. speaks with the Director of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre about internal displacement and her chief concerns in 2020, especially in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
Displaced Persons and Refugees
Moheyman Alkhatavi is an Iraqi refugee who works as a nurse at a hospital in Abadan, Iran. He is part of a team of dedicated nurses working tirelessly on rotation to monitor some 50 new patients admitted to the quarantine unit each week while they await COVID-19 test results. There are close to one million refugees in Iran, mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq. From the onset of the pandemic, the Government of Iran has made efforts to ensure refugees have access to health services.
COVID-19 is taking lives and changing communities but the virus is also inducing massive protection risks for women and girls forced to flee their homes. Confinement policies and quarantines have led to restricted movement, reduced community interaction, the closure of services and worsening socio-economic conditions. warns that these factors are significantly exacerbating the risks of intimate partner violence, especially for displaced and stateless women and girls.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an outpouring of solidarity from people around the world. This reaction includes refugees keen to help in the countries where they now live. Many refugees in Europe involved in medicine in their home countries are finding new ways to use their skills to help care for those in need. The (UNHCR) features the stories of doctors from Libya and Somalia, among refugee medics joining the battle to fight COVID-19 and save lives.
s leading public health expert says prevention and inclusion must be at the heart of the response for displaced people, especially in areas with weak health services. The Refugee Agency is working to slow the spread of the corona virus, reduce its impact and save lives among the refugee population and internally displaced peoples. Most of the worlds 25.9 million refugees are hosted in developing countries, putting extraordinary strain on already fragile local health-care services.
Quasai and her family of 9 are doing everything they can to keep the virus away. The UN and partners are working around the clock to mitigate the risks, but more resources are urgently needed.
Displaced people and host communities all over the world are at heightened risk as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. The and its staff support their actions.
Although the number of reported and confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection among refugees remains low, over 80 per cent of the worlds refugee population and nearly all the internally displaced people live in low to middle-income countries and need urgent support. Many refugees live in densely populated camps or in poorer urban areas with inadequate health infrastructure and WASH water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Prevention in these locations is of paramount importance. The detailed a series of measures it is taking in its field operations.
As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates, at greatest risk include some 70 million children, women and men uprooted by war and persecution. Among them are some 25.9 million refugees, more than three quarters of whom live in developing countries in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. With weak health systems, some of those countries are already facing humanitarian crises. The UN Refugee Agency seeks US$255 million for its urgent push to curb the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks in these vulnerable communities.
As countries reduce entry to their territories, refugee families are directly impacted by travel restrictions caused as a reaction to the COVID-19 global health crisis. Refugees may face delays and family separations. Some countries also place holds on resettlement arrivals. Adding the increased risk to exposure refugees may face, and suspend resettlement departures for refugees. This is a temporary measure that will be in place for as long as it remains essential.
welcomes new law allowing 50,000 stateless people in Uzbekistan to gain citizenship after providing recommendations to national authorities during its drafting.
Unicef, WFPsee impact of conflict on children and families in Syria
Filippo of refugees and migrants in reception centres in the Aegean islands. Conditions on the islands are shocking and shameful, said Grandi. Greece with European support has to act now to deal with an untenable situation, while the longer-term measures are put in place.
Barobi Family Home Makeover
Nakout hasnt seen her daughter Achan since she was kidnapped by a Ugandan rebel group in 2003. After escaping from the group, Nakout became a refugee in Finland. She has written a letter to her long-lost daughter in the hope they can begin to rebuild their relationship.