25 kilos of rice, 5 liters of oil, salt, in addition to soap for laundry and for personal hygiene, a bucket and facemasks: that’s what makes the difference between being protected or remaining exposed to the risk of contagion. It is assured by Doctors with Africa CUAMM which is firmly engaged in an emergency intervention, with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, in the refugee camps of Nguenyyiel, Tierkidi and Jewi in Gambella region, in Ethiopia, in order to reduce the risk of the Covid-19 spread.
The only Nguenyyiel camp hosts more than 91,000 thousand refugees who fled South Sudan because of the civil war. It is therefore a very fragile context that may collapse with the escalation of the epidemic. The available resources are limited, but the essential goal remains to secure the most vulnerable. Therefore, with the collaboration of a local partner, a “mapping” operation has begun within the camp to identify refugees with disabilities and to be able to distribute them emergency kits.
«People with disabilities get through many difficulties especially in participating in the distribution of basic necessities and materials that normally occur in the camp, due to their physical condition. This is why we decided to organize the activity inside the CUAMM compound, thanks also to the help of 15 community activists who mobilized people to participate in the distribution – says Daniel, project operator for CUAMM -. So far, we have delivered 1,000 sanitary kits and in the coming days we will deliver 1,400 more to refugees with disabilities residing in other areas of the camp».
This activity also extends to the Itang Woreda where about a hundred mothers, whose children are beneficiaries of a program to combat malnutrition, received the kit. «Each mother received 25 kg of rice, 5 liters of oil, salt, as well as soap for laundry and personal hygiene, a bucket and a mask in washable fabric – says Abdisa, CUAMM project assistant -. In addition, 200 people who were affected by the recent floods in the region, also received the sanitary kits».
Protecting the most vulnerable is crucial to overcome current challenges in those contexts made even more fragile by the pandemic of Covid-19 that is affecting everyone, in Italy as in Africa. Doctors with Africa CUAMM works in Africa to ensure the access to healthcare until the last mile, which is not only physical but also a condition experienced by many people in their most extreme vulnerability.
