Welthungerhilfe COVID-19 Relief Fund

In Ethiopia, a state of emergency was declared in some parts of the country and public transport was halted. Business life in Ethiopia is also at a standstill, which is partly affecting the work of Welthungerhilfe. Project activities in the country are currently being continued in a reduced capacity, coordinated by colleagues working from from home. The team is supporting the educational work of the local authorities. In addition, WASH training and hygiene education are being integrated into the regular activities.

India is completely closed off, 1.3 million people are under lockdown. The project work of Welthungerhilfe India has been suspended. The Indian health system is fragile, the lockdown puts the poorest people in particular at risk. Tens of thousands of people living in the slums of cities like Delhi have to return to their home regions on foot – without money or food. Welthungerhilfe's partner organisations are currently providing education and hygiene training in rural areas. They also provide food to migrant workers on the streets.

The government in Liberia has acted very quickly and has taken many measures to contain the spread of the virus. Despite these efforts and experience gained from the fight against Ebola, the risk to the population is high. Without financial support from abroad, Liberia will not be able to cope with this crisis.

Due to a lack of testing facilitates, there are currently no officially confirmed cases in Malawi, but people are already suffering from the pandemic. The government has declared a state of emergency. The health system has been chronically overloaded for years and could quickly collapse as the number of cases increases. Especially hard hit are students and low-income workers in the cities. Restaurants, hotels, conference centres are on the back burner. Minibuses and taxis have fewer and fewer customers.

The Welthungerhilfe team is preparing for the spread of COVID-19, and project activities are continuing with a focus on hygiene training and education. A quarantine station for newly arriving refugees at the refugee camp in Dzaleka is being prepared, hand washing stations installed and soap distributed.

In Pakistan, public life is mostly quiet, schools, shops and restaurants are closed. Welthungerhilfe's project activities continue in a reduced form. In particular, educational work is being stepped up and local authorities are being supported in the fight against coronavirus. In cooperation with a local partner which has special government authorisation, the Welthungerhilfe team will provide urgently needed food to around 1,000 households in Manga, Mardan District, who are under stay-at-home orders.

Since 30 March, public life in Zimbabwe has been restricted; schools, shops and markets have been closed. The government has declared a state of emergency. The health system in Zimbabwe is not at all prepared for the current situation. Currently, the capital Harare has the only ventilator in the country – for over 1.5 million inhabitants. Lack of access to clean water and virtually no facilities for regular hand washing are further factors contributing to the spread of coronavirus. The local Welthungerhilfe projects focus on the containment of COVID-19 and the team provides hygiene training to teach people about the necessary precautions and encourage them to take this information to their families and communities. Social media and announcements from car speakers are also used for this, in part to protect employees – social distancing rules also apply in Zimbabwe. In addition, wells are being repaired as quickly as possible so that more people have access to water again.