ActionAid Australia COVID-19 Response

Coronavirus: ActionAid is on the ground in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Middle East and Latin America. Donate now to help us reach people in urgent need.
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What is ActionAid’s response to the coronavirus outbreak around the world?

As cases of coronavirus continue to increase globally, ActionAid stands in solidarity with all those affected by the crisis. Like all emergencies and humanitarian crises, the Covid-19 pandemic will hit women, the poor and the most marginalised the hardest.

 

We are taking all necessary measures to protect the health and safety of our staff and the communities we work with worldwide.

Using lessons learnt from previous disease outbreaks, including the recent Ebola crisis, our colleagues around the world are sharing essential health information with vulnerable communities and starting to put women-led response plans into action.

ActionAid is calling on governments to ensure that social protections target women, whose care duties will double as they are at the forefront of caring for the sick, home-schooling, working informal jobs and collecting water.

Two-thirds of health sector jobs globally are held by women, who are on the frontline of the crisis working as nurses and carers.

In developing countries, more than two thirds women work in the informal economy, without sick leave and unemployment benefits. If they don’t work, they and their families don’t eat.

Girls are often responsible for walking increasingly long distances to collect any water available. Worldwide, 780 million people don’t have access to clean water. Unless their basic needs are met, they won’t be able to protect themselves or their communities from coronavirus.

ActionAid Australia has launched a coronavirus fundraising appeal to help support those in the most vulnerable communities to stop the spread of the virus and save lives.

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Where We Are Responding

Bangladesh

In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, over 800,000 Rohingya refugees are living in densely-packed camps with inadequate water and sanitation facilities. Over half the population in the camps does not have access to enough water and at least one-third of people do not have access to soap. Recent reports indicate the spread of fake news and inaccurate information being circulated about Covid-19. ActionAid is already distributing approved information on prevention of Covid-19 through our supported protection centres in the Rohingya refugee camps.

ActionAid Palestine joined the national response to COVID-19, distributing sanitation and protective equipment to communities impacted by the virus.

AAP was one of the first local and international organisations that responded to combating   COVID-19 in this area whose residents have many sufferings from marginalisation caused by illegal settlements on its lands, protection threats and settlers’ violence.

Learn more about the AAP response.

Bangladesh

In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, over 800,000 Rohingya refugees are living in densely-packed camps with inadequate water and sanitation facilities. Over half the population in the camps does not have access to enough water and at least one-third of people do not have access to soap. Recent reports indicate the spread of fake news and inaccurate information being circulated about Covid-19. ActionAid is already distributing approved information on prevention of Covid-19 through our supported protection centres in the Rohingya refugee camps.

Learn more about how COVID-19 is impacting garment workers in Bangladesh.

Democratic Republic of Congo

In Democratic Republic of Congo, the government has closed schools, bars, restaurants and religious venues for four weeks. ActionAid DRC has extensive experience in implementing Ebola prevention measures in response to the 2018-19 outbreak. We are continuously monitoring the situation and providing information to women’s groups in operational areas.

Kenya

In Kenya, ActionAid has supported the humanitarian response to the Covid-19 pandemic by distributing information and myth-busting leaflets to communities through its network of women’s collectives and community groups.

The organisation works in informal settlements, which are overcrowded and likely to be worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Women are at the forefront of caring for the sick, home schooling, working in precarious jobs and are at greatest risk of falling through the safety net.

ActionAid Kenya is calling on the government to ensure guaranteed paid sick leave is available to all workers, both in the formal and informal sectors, and that people living in informal settlements will have access to free, clean, drinking water and health facilities staffed by skilled professionals.

Haiti

In Haiti, ActionAid is working closely with the Ministry of Health to provide communication material and megaphones for community sensitisation. ActionAid’s partner organisations and women’s groups are raising awareness in their community about Covid-19 prevention measures.

India

ActionAid India has developed educational material and is raising awareness on Covid-19 prevention. We are reaching out to the most vulnerable communities with support and ration kits as the country goes under lockdown.

Liberia

In Liberia, ActionAid has significant experience in supporting a women and community-led response to the Ebola outbreak that took place in 2014-16. We focused on urgent awareness-raising and messaging on prevention and safe practices, as well as basic needs support and education for families in quarantine or isolation. ActionAid is now monitoring Covid-19 and preparing communities.

Senegal

In Senegal, ActionAid is planning to provide preventative assistance in nine communities around awareness raising on Covid-19. ActionAid Senegal is distributing hygiene and sanitation items such as bleach and soap.

Learn more about the ActionAid Senegal response.

Vanuatu

ActionAid Vanuatu is supporting local Womens networks, including the Women I Tok Tok Tugeta (WITTT), to disseminate information on the prevention of Covid-19.

The Women’s Wetem Weta worked alongside the Vanuatu Ministry of Health to deliver the first national response and has since undertaken targeted training facilitated by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The group of woman has recently undertook a series of community demonstrations on hand hygiene and safe-practices to slow the spread of the virus.

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How is the coronavirus affecting women and girls?

Women and girls in the global south are some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in the world.

  • Many communities rely on water sources external to their homes in the global south. With the demand for water and hygiene increasing during the crisis, many women and girls will find themselves seeking water from far-flung places which can put them at an increased risk of sexual violence.
  • With demands to self-isolate and reduce social contact to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, women and girls also face heightened risk of domestic violence while spending more time at home.
  • Many women in the global south are also risking exposure by being at the forefront of healthcare systems and while shouldering domestic and feeding responsibilities.
  • Furthermore, women who make up the vast majority of garment factory employees are now facing a loss of income and job security as less demand for new clothes and garments around the world mean factories are closing.

Will you support women on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis?

We are currently responding to the coronavirus crisis in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America. Please donate now to help us reach people in urgent need.

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