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21 May 2020Support public health systems that are already very fragile in some areas of the world, strengthen their capacity and encourage the inclusion of refugees within them, ensure access to water and hygiene products for prevention and guarantee direct economic assistance to the most fragile and distance education. These are the main objectives of the appeal launched by UNHCR to raise 745 million dollars, necessary to counter the spread of coronavirus in 71 vulnerable countries in the world .The situation in Niger is particularly worrying, a country already battered by extreme poverty and violence. The impact of Covid-19 on refugee and internally displaced populations in the world is already devastating today but could turn into a real catastrophe in the coming months without adequate countermeasures, writes UNHCR. The 71 million people forced to flee present in the world are today among the most exposed and vulnerable to the advance of the virus and its very serious consequences, direct and indirect. Although, to date, the cases of contagion detected among refugees are still limited, the impact on the fragile lives of people fleeing wars and persecutions is enormous. Added to this is the forecast that in the poorest countries the peak will not be reached before the next 3-6 months.
At this moment, UNHCR is taking action to counter the spread of the virus and protect refugees from its consequences, while preparing to face any future scenario, even the worst. But to do this, everyone's help is needed. For this reason, UNHCR Italia has decided to launch the campaign "Borderless Emergency, Solidarity Without Borders", an appeal addressed to the Italian public so that the weakest, millions of refugees who are not forgotten at this difficult and uncertain moment they must protect themselves not only from Covid-19 but also from bombs, violence and poverty. "Global solidarity is the key to overcoming this moment of global emergency and only together can we overcome it and start again", the note reads.