Twal Umande (48) and Bahati Imulali (20) accessing Trócaire water points to prevent the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: Garry Walsh Caoimhe de Barra
Today, as the world joins together to battle the coronavirus (Covid-19), we are reminded how connected we are. We are one human family who share God’s earth together. We have the same hopes. Today, we face the same fear.
But this fear can be overcome by us acting together, in solidarity and in love. In the weeks ahead, as we face the coronavirus in our own communities, Trócaire’s teams will face it in some of the poorest communities in the world. They will face it in conflict zones where people live together in crowded camps. They will face it in communities already ravaged with hunger. These are places with little healthcare and few resources; places sadly ill-equipped to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.
Trócaire’s Lent activities may be cancelled but we still rely massively on the support of our clergy and parishioners as the needs overseas are greater than ever.
Battlegrounds
The two key battlegrounds against the coronavirus – China and Europe – are well-resourced but even they have been stretched to their limits dealing with its devastating consequences. We are now seeing the virus rapidly spread to countries who lack even the most basic resources to fight this crisis.
Covid-19 is now present in over 40 countries in Africa, including some – Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo – that are amongst the poorest places on Earth. The big fear is that the virus is being under-reported. Some places have no reported cases but that may be because they have no ability to test.
Poor countries are vulnerable at multiple levels – there may not be a functioning state to warn people how to protect themselves; many do not have the systems to detect the virus; most do not have a functioning health service to respond to a mass outbreak of illness.
Poverty also makes individuals more vulnerable. If you are living through a drought in somewhere like Malawi or Kenya, you may only be eating once a day. You may have HIV or be malnourished. Your immune system is going to be compromised.
We are told how hand washing is one of the best protections against Covid-19, but three quarters of sub-Saharan Africa’s 645 million people don’t have the facilities at home to wash their hands with soap and water. People have said they are being advised to wash their hands and they ask – ‘with what?’
There are currently coronavirus cases in many of the countries where Trócaire supports people”
The other key protection is social distancing. In conflict-affected countries, people are often living together in very crowded camps where the virus could take hold very easily. A staggering 84% of refugees are living in developing countries. How do you stop a virus taking hold in a refugee camp? The reality is that refugees are often living in overcrowded camps, that are starved of resources. So even accessing enough detergent and clean water to keep people healthy in normal times is a huge challenge.
There are currently coronavirus cases in many of the countries where Trócaire supports people. Trying to contain the spread of the virus in these countries is going to be a mammoth task for our teams in the weeks and months ahead. Our most affected region so far is the Middle East. The number of cases in Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been growing day by day, followed by further recent cases in Gaza and Syria – areas which are already suffering from conflict.
Outbreaks
Elsewhere, in Central America, Guatemala and Honduras are in lockdown. In Africa, cases have been reported in countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe, where Trócaire has ongoing programmes.
Trócaire has experience combatting disease outbreaks and we can help to tackle this pandemic.
During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-15, our teams in Sierra Leone delivered vital services to affected communities, helping to save thousands of lives. Today, we continue to counter the spread of Ebola in DRC, where over 2,200 people have died from the disease in the last 18 months. DRC had its last new case of Ebola a month ago. We are winning the fight against Ebola and we can win this new fight against Covid-19.
What makes Covid-19 different to other response work is that it is not isolated to one region or country. When Ebola struck West Africa, the world could mobilise in response. Were coronavirus to spread across the entire African continent – and at a time when Europe and America are struggling to contain their own crises – African countries will have to rely only on their own scarce resources.
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Elders and Church leaders have an important role to play. Governments and international organisations are not always trusted. When Ebola struck, rumours spread that governments and international aid agencies were to blame. In some cases, medics were attacked. That is why engaging with community elders and Church leaders is so important.
They have the trust of the people. Failing to engage them has very serious consequences – if they are not informed of the facts, they can spread the wrong information.
Agencies such as Trócaire will respond to the Coronavirus crisis while also trying to maintain other life-saving programmes. The virus also presents challenges to our work in Ireland. Organisations around Ireland are trying to deal with this risk in a sensible and appropriate way. Trócaire is no different.
Protection
We have cancelled all staff travel and all face-to-face events here in Ireland planned around our annual Lenten campaign. This will impact our crucial fundraising, but the most important thing today is stopping the spread of this virus and protecting each other.
This crisis has highlighted how interconnected our world and our lives are. The global community is rallying together. The people who are least able to fight the virus are going to be the hardest hit. In the weeks and months ahead, we must be prepared to stand with people who are largely defenceless against the threat they face.
May we, as children of the light, continue to express solidarity with the work Trócaire and others are doing in the developing world at this time of unprecedented crisis. Let us show our love for each other and for mothers and families around the world, who face conflict, poverty and disease. As Dr Mike Ryan of the World Health Organisation recently said, ‘None of us are safe until all of us are safe’.
Caoimhe de Barra is CEO of Trócaire.