▲ staff UNHCR building a tent for Venezuelan refugees in the Colombian city of Cúcuta [UNHCR].

April 3, 2020

COMMENTARY / Paula Ulibarrena

The restrictive measures imposed by the states to try to contain the coronavirus epidemic mean that millions of people are no longer going to work or working from home. But not everyone can stop working or switch to teleworking. There are self-employed people, small businesses, neighborhood stores, street traders or street vendors, and freelance artists who live practically from day to day. For them and for many others who have no income or see their income reduced, expenses will continue to be the same: payment of utilities, rents, mortgages, school fees and, of course, food and medicine.

All these social impacts caused by the coronavirus crisis are already beginning to be questioned among those living in the "red zone" of the epidemic. In Italy, for example, some political groups have demanded that aid should not be given to large companies, but to this group of precarious workers or needy families, and are demanding a "basic quarantine income".

Similar approaches are emerging in other parts of the world and have even led some leaders to anticipate the demands of the population. In France, Emmanuel Macron announced that the government will assume the credits, and suspended the payment of rents, taxes and electricity, gas and water bills. In the United States, Donald Trump's government announced that checks will be sent to each family to face the expenses or risks implied by the pandemic.

In other major crises, the State has come to the rescue of large companies and banks. Now it is demanded that public resources be used to rescue those most in need.

In any crisis, it is the most disadvantaged who have the worst time, today there are more than 126 million people in the world in need of humanitarian assistance attendance , including 70 million forcibly displaced persons. Among these groups, we are beginning to see the first cases of infected people (Ninive-Iraq displaced persons camp, Somalia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Venezuela....), the report of cases in Burkina Faso is particularly illustrative of the challenge of responding in a context where medical care is limited. Malian refugees who were once displaced to Burkina Faso are being forced to return to Mali, and ongoing violence inhibits humanitarian and medical access to affected populations.

Many refugee camps suffer from insufficient hygiene and sanitation facilities, creating conditions conducive to the spread of disease. Official response plans in the United States, South Korea, China and Europe require social distancing, which is physically impossible in many displacement camps and in the crowded urban settings in which many forcibly displaced people live. Jan Egeland, director general of the Norwegian Refugee committee , warned that COVID-19 could "decimate refugee communities." 

Jacob Kurtzer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington warns that national policies of isolation in reaction to the spread of COVID-19 also have negative consequences for people facing humanitarian emergencies. Thus the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration have announced the end of refugee resettlement programs, as some host governments have halted refugee entrance and imposed travel restrictions as part of their official response.

Compounding these challenges is the reality that humanitarian funding, which can barely meet global demand and may be affected as donor states feel they must focus such funds on the Covid-19 response at this time.

On the flip side the coronavirus could present an opportunity to de-escalate some armed conflicts. For example, the European Union has order cessation of hostilities and cessation of military transfers in Libya to allow authorities to focus on responding to the health emergency. The Islamic State has posted repeated messages on its Al-Naba information bulletin asking fighters not to travel to Europe and to reduce attacks while concentrating on staying free of the virus. 

Kurtzer suggests that this is an opportunity to reflect on the nature of humanitarian work abroad and ensure that it is not overlooked. Interestingly developed countries face real medical vulnerability, indeed Médecins Sans Frontières has opened facilities in four locations in Italy. Cooperating with reliable humanitarian organizations at the national level will be of vital importance to respond to the needs of the population and at the same time develop a greater understanding of the vital work they perform in humanitarian settings abroad.