联合国难民高级专员说,新颖的冠状病毒Covid-19的传播正在压力脆弱的系统,并加剧了世界各地难民的脆弱性。难民署)。This is especially true for refugees in the中东,中部非洲, and Europe wherepopulations of displaced people may already find themselves in countries with food scarcity and weakened healthcare infrastructures. As national governments tighten restrictions in these regions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) struggle to provide aid.
“中部和西非的组织正在散布许多天的分布,甚至推迟了一些人,直到进一步通知。”难民国际难民国际西部和中非的高级倡导者亚历山德拉·拉马克(Alexandra Lamarche)告诉食品坦克。w88优德老虎机平台
Withairlines suspending flightsin an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, international aid organizations are reassessing tactics to provide on the ground help. Typically, they distribute food to many people at once. But COVID-19 restrictions have made that difficult, as organizations face limited capacity and spread out distribution days. “They are spending more money on something that could cost less, and when these responses are already underfunded it’s going to have dire consequences,” says Lamarche.
In May, the联合国撤回more than half of their humanitarian aid in Yemen because of coronavirus lockdowns and funding shortages. In Ethiopia, Libya, Mauritania, Niger and Somalia,theUnited Nations Humanitarian Air Service is still暂停due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Lamarche在西非和中非的流离失所环境中工作,他说,该地区对粮食进口的严重依赖使人们特别脆弱。随着这些国家限制非政府组织的旅行,它们对粮食不安全感的威胁增加了。Lamarche告诉Food Tank:“政府关闭了边界,并限制了急需的食物和医疗用品的涌入。”w88优德老虎机平台“结果,仍然可以使用的食品供应价格增加了一倍以上,使该国贫困人口较贫困,获得食物的机会有限。”
Even when organizations are able to distribute food, they fear it will be difficult to adopt protective measures to limit the spread of the virus. NGOs, like the世界粮食计划和难民署,建立了新的社会距离和健康监测方案,以确保人们在营地的食品分配中心安全。
Lamarche说,但是这些措施并非可以转移给所有社区,尤其是当社区密集地包装而几乎没有清洁水的地方时。作为难民署暂时suspends resettlement travel,许多人将留在人口稠密的营地中,使社会疏远措施更加难以实施。
As COVID-19 continues to affect the supply chains, the World Food Programme predicts that the pandemic could double the number of people facing acute hunger, bringing the number from 135 million to265 million by the end of 2020.
In order to deal with the pandemic in their own countries, governments that would normally support NGOs have cut back funding, Lamarche tells Food Tank. But the engagement of major donors in these regions can help to keep the number of food insecure people from rising.
“[Global health measures] are just not realistic, these solutions do not work in displacement settings. And now we’re having massive food insecurity on top of already pretty dire situations regarding COVID,” says Lamarche. “Coronavirus is not inherently linked to food security, [food insecurity] is just a really terrible consequence.”
Photo courtesy of Alexandra Lamarche