Concern's response to COVID-19

In Burundi, we have brought our regular programming in line with social distancing guidelines. We have also adapted our health programme to incorporate COVID-19 community messaging materials and activities, and we're providing hygiene kits to facilitate proper hand-washing.

In Rwanda, our beneficiaries were sensitized on Covid-19 prevention measures, 4155 household members were given facemasks twice (in 2020 and 2021), and hand sanitizers were provided at different FFLS sites.

In Central African Republic, we immediately adapted two of our current projects and launched two new projects along the axis linking the capital Bangui to Douala in Cameroon - one of the areas most affected by the pandemic. 400,000 people across western CAR will benefit from this mobilisation. We have also worked with 75 health centres to help train staff in COVID-19 infection control and response. Our team has also overseen the construction of 30 latrines and the rehabilitation of 20 water points for these health centres, and are involved in training hundreds of members of isolated communities to act as role models and motivate others to adopt good practices to reduce the risks of COVID transmission.

In Democratic Republic of Congo we’re adapting distribution activities in accordance with social distancing guidelines but will continue cash transfer activities to help mitigate the economic impact of the virus. We’re adapting our health programme activities to include relevant hygiene activities and community messaging on infection control.

In Chad, we have implemented mass awareness campaigns to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19 through a number of means including local radio. Recent assessments have shown that the levels of awareness regarding COVID-19 and its prevention are strong. These campaigns are continuing with the incorporation of new messages including stigmatisation and respecting preventative measures. We’re also providing practical assistance to prevent transmission, including strengthening access to protective equipment for health workers; rehabilitating boreholes to increase access to water for 5,000 households; and distributing water, sanitation and hygiene kits to 5,000 vulnerable households.

In Niger, we are scaling up all community awareness activities by sharing messages and advice to reduce the spread of COVID-19 over the radio. We're also training community leaders and members to share information about the virus with the communities. And we're working with health authorities to further strengthen the capacity and preparedness of 94 health centres in Tahoua region and adopting community malnutrition services to COVID-19.

Finally, we are setting up hand-washing stations in all of our community locations and particularly in health centres. Our education and livelihood activities have been adapted to incorporate social distancing guidelines. 

In Liberia, our team has been scaling down our general programme activities in line with government restrictions. The primary focus has been on preparing materials to raise awareness around social distancing and hand-washing, including the production of radio jingles. 

In Sierra Leone, we continue to contribute significantly to the national COVID-19 response. In particular, Concern, with IRC as partner, is implementing an ECHO-funded project in all 16 districts to support the Government achieve its COVID-19 vaccination strategy. The focus is on reaching people living in geographically hard to reach areas and vulnerable people (e.g. those living with disabilities). We have provided strong support to coordination mechanisms, including the development of a ‘Readiness Checklist’ to identify gaps in capacity at district level, which can be used in other future vaccination campaigns. By the end of January 2022, Concern and IRC supported mobile vaccination teams had fully vaccinated 18,829 people and provided a first dose to 26,304.

In Sudan, our team has been scaling back regular programme activities in line with government social distancing restrictions and our health programme activities have been adapted to align with the national COVID-19 response strategy.                

In Malawi, our team has adapted our programme activities to reduce the size of meetings, keeping physical distance between the farmers we work with and introducing hand-washing before and after trainings and seed fairs. We have started a new intervention supporting the Ministry of Health and are doing community awareness in the high density suburbs of Lilongwe where the effect of the virus will hit hardest. We have increased our team capacity in the short-term to include a public health expert and a communications expert in order to respond more effectively to the demands of this crisis.

In Afghanistan, Concern has installed hand-washing stations across its areas of intervention in Northern Afghanistan. Concern’s extensive network of community development facilitators are conducting hygiene awareness campaigns specifically tailored to COVID-19. In coordination with community committees, Concern identifies substandard water infrastructure, conducts repairs and identifies the best locations for hand-washing stations so that communities are better able to protect one another. All programmes have been adapted to take account of the risk of COVID-19 and to make use of Concern’s direct access in communities to raise awareness of the virus. For example, as part of its Education programme, Concern has distributed water tanks, soap, sanitiser and face masks to schools and has reached over 14,000 students with information on how they can protect themselves and their communities from COVID-19.

In Bangladesh, where the government has imposed a nationwide shutdown in a bid to contain the virus, we have redesigned our nutrition services at the Rohingya camps near the village of Cox’s Bazar, where 855,000 refugees are living in close proximity to each other and in significant danger should COVID-19 enter the community. Having distributed a double ration of food prior to the shutdown, we have also prepositioned food stock in the camps that can be distributed by our volunteer network should the restrictions continue for a longer period.

In Pakistan, under the Building Disaster Resilience Programme (BDRP), government health facilities and quarantine centres are being supported by the provision of hygiene and disinfection materials, basic PPE, installation of hand washing stations, water points, latrines, incinerators and solid waste management. Similarly, the RAPID Programme is focused on improving preparedness and response capacity at the government and community level through its planned provision of essential supplies, equipment, disinfectants, basic PPE and other essential measures, installation of sanitation infrastructure in health facilities and provision of cash grants to the extremely poor and vulnerable households. Training sessions are also planned for the front line staff in government health facilities, along with mass awareness at the community level.

Due to the fragile health system in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) we have been responding with key preventative measures in vulnerable communities where we work. Activities include hygiene messaging, such as promotion of hand-washing and provision of hygiene kits for those who lack basic facilities. Kits include items such as buckets, basins, soap, towels. We train caregivers in hygiene messaging to ensure a long-lasting impact. Concern also works with the most vulnerable to build more resilient livelihoods for those being affected by the broader socio-economic impact of the pandemic and restrictions of movement and trade.

In Iraq, years of war have taken a toll on its population and on governance, resulting in limited capacity at every level to resolve, manage and rebuild the country. This is becoming even more challenging with the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Iraq – the Iraqi Ministry of Health confirmed over 535,000 cases as of November 23. This emergency requires everyone to work together and highlights the vital role humanitarian agencies can play in supporting authorities to prevent the spread of the virus. Our work has focused specifically on supporting preventive measures for over 200,000 people living in camps in Northern Iraq. With support from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), we started a COVID-19 Hygiene Kit response, distributing bathing soap bars, detergent and sanitary pads to 84,500 individuals. We are also working with a local partner to promote COVID-19 prevention awareness among the communities we are working with. 

In Lebanon, the second wave of COVID-19 has now started, with an average of 1,800 new cases recorded per day. With little access to lifesaving health care and limited opportunities to practice adequate social distancing, refugees and migrant workers are at a heightened risk of contracting the virus. Our team is working to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 among Lebanon’s most vulnerable communities by distributing hygiene kits to refugees and essential information on how to keep safe from the virus. We have completed the rehabilitation of two isolation facilities for refugees that may be affected by COVID-19 in Akkar. In addition, we're distributing emergency cash assistance to refugee households that have lost their source of income due to the pandemic.

As part of our ongoing Protection programme, our team has strengthened its remote case management work, which supports survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), child protection, and intimate partner violence (IPV).

In Turkey, the number of deaths has now passed 12,000 and our team is continuing to provide urgent protection support to vulnerable individuals. This includes the provision of shelter support, cash for food (in the form of shopping cards), basic household items (mattresses, kitchen items, etc.) and emergency transportation. Our team are also delivering online training sessions to parents, guardians and caregivers of children on measures they can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  They have also been distributing hygiene kits (comprised of soap, shampoo and anti-bacterial surface cleaners) supporting 52,600 vulnerable people to date.

In Syria, our teams are providing vouchers to vulnerable families which enable them to purchase both food and hygiene products from local vendors. Over 150,000 people are being supported in this way. We have also distributed almost 20,000 hygiene kits and food baskets to vulnerable people in camps, informal settlements, collective centres and urban areas. More recently we have scaled up Infection, Prevention and Containment  activities to successfully complete the rehabilitation of 25 health facilities. 

In Haiti, which has already been hit by a severe political and environmental crisis, COVID-19 presents another significant challenge. particularly in the slum areas of Port-of-Prince. Our team is following Government recommendations such as social distancing and have adapted our programmes in Port-of-Prince in order to respond to the threat. Under our ‘Disaster Risks Reduction’ (DRR) programme we have put in place important prevention measures such as social distancing messaging, hygiene kit distributions and water point and pump installations. Additionally, with support from Irish Aid, we have adapted our Irish Aid Programme Fund programmes and supported 4,000 households with unconditional cash transfers.

Our staff have been supplying cleaning soap and provided money and training for unemployed people to make their own soap to use and sell, which has been running successfully in Cite Soleil, Haiti’s largest slum. This helped the communities to get make an income from the soap making process, as well as getting access to protect themselves against COVID-19.