Trócaire appeals for help to stem COVID-19 spread in developing world
THE regional head of Trócaire’s Middle East and Asia section, Newmarket native Niall O’Keeffe, has said similar action that is halting the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo will be needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 to the world’s poorest countries.
Mr O’Keeffe said the Coronavirus “knows no borders”, and there were genuine concerns about potentially devastating impact it will have on countries that lack even the most basic resources to fight it.
“Poor countries are vulnerable at multiple levels,” warned Mr O’Keeffe. “There may not be a functioning state to warn people how to protect themselves.
“Many do not have the systems to detect the virus and most do not have a functioning health service to respond to a mass outbreak of illness,” Mr O’Keeffe added.
He said poverty also makes individuals more vulnerable, pointing out that a staggering 84 per cent of refugees are living in developing countries. For example in places like Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, people are often living together in very crowded camps, where the virus could take hold all too easily.
“We are told how hand washing is one of the best protections against COVID-19, yet these people don’t have the facilities to wash their hands with soap and water,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
He said COVID-19 cases had been reported in 16 countries where the charity works and that trying to contain the spread of the virus across them over the coming weeks and months would be a “mammoth task.”
Trócaire’s most-affected region so far is the Middle East and, ominously, the virus is now present in both Syria and Gaza.
“This month, the war in Syria enters its tenth year,” Mr O’Keeffe said.
“The human cost of this war is truly shocking. The first case of COVID-19 was recently detected there, which now risks compounding the humanitarian catastrophe,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
“Almost 5million children have been born in Syria in the last decade knowing only war. There is also a common misconception that the war has ended, yet the violence continues. In the last four months alone, almost one million people have been displaced from their homes in north-west Syria and the country’s health system, which is vital for combating COVID-19, has been decimated.”
Neighbouring Iran has one of the worst Coronavirus outbreaks in the world. Lebanon, which hosts over a million refugees from Syria, has already reported hundreds of cases and a number of deaths.
The virus is also now present in Gaza , one of the most crowded places on earth, where two million people live in area roughly half the size of County Louth.
“Even without the Coronavirus, Gaza exists in a permanent state of humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing Israeli blockade. Around 80 per cent of people are reliant on international aid for survival, and the unemployment rate is around 50 per cent. There are few places in the world where people are less equipped to deal with the impending onslaught of COVID-19,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
He said Trócaire was currently preparing immediate COVID-19 responses in seven countries, bringing all the experience it has in combating disease outbreaks to bear in helping to tackle the pandemic.
“What makes COVID-19 different to other response work is that it is not isolated to one region or country, and this creates additional challenges in how we respond,” said Mr O’Keeffe
The virus also presents challenges to their work in Ireland following the cancellation of all events planned around Trócaire’s annual Lenten fundraising campaign.
“This will impact our crucial fundraising, but the most important thing is stopping the spread of this virus and protecting each other. While face-to-face public outreach activities are cancelled, our Lent appeal continues and people can donate at www.trocaire.org, by phone at 1850 408 408 and continue to fill their Trócaire boxes with the intention of returning them at some stage in the future,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
“We know not everyone is in a position to support our work right now but, if you can, please consider supporting Trócaire’s Lent appeal. Your support means we can provide hygiene kits, testing kits, information campaigns and other support to communities affected by COVID-19,” he urged.