pandemic

As we commemorate the Great March of Return in the Gaza Strip, Premiere Urgence Internationale would like to share the attached statement developed with AIDA (Association of International Development Agencies). During demonstrations hundreds have been killed and thousands have been injured by Israeli forces near the fence. Premiere Urgence Internationale as part of its emergency response has been providing assistance to Gazans affected during the Great March of Return, including farmers and fishers in the Access Restricted Area.

The current pandemic must not overshadow other health emergencies and sanitarian crises faced by vulnerable people. In Lebanon, Première Urgence Internationale takes great care of providing constant support to vulnerable populations and facilitating them the access to basic services, despite the stress caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Libya recorded its first case of COVID-19 on March 24, 2020, since then there are 4,063  confirmed cases and 93 deaths (according to the National Centre for Disease Control – NCDC – data as of August 4, 2020). Since the start of the pandemic, the Première Urgence Internationale teams have decided to maintain their health activities to meet the needs of the vulnerable population and to include a COVID-19 component to limit the spread of the virus in the two areas of Benghazi and Al Kufra where the NGO operates. Indeed, the already fragile health system before the outbreak of COVID-19, fears a real threat for the country, in case the virus will spread throughout the country.

In the East of Afghanistan, Première Urgence Internationale has been taking action for four decades to respond the emergency health needs and contribute to the improvement of public services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NGO is implementing several activities and adapting its usual programs. Dedicated resources and special extra supply have been delivered, through a humanitarian air bridge connecting Europe and Afghanistan.

In Iraq and Kurdistan, Première Urgence Internationale is an important camp health actor, managing primary healthcare centres in three camps hosting refugees and internally displaced people. To continue responding to the needs of these vulnerable populations in these times of pandemic, the mission reorganised its functioning, putting in place quarantine areas and conducting awareness raising sessions.

The global coronavirus epidemic forces many sectors of activity to slow down and adapt their functioning. The humanitarian sector is not an exception. Like other NGOs, Première Urgence Internationale is shifting its actions and programs throughout the world, like it already did in response to previous regional outbreaks. The priority is to protect health workers and the population, while ensuring the continuity of essential care.