prévention

Première Urgence Internationale has been present in Gao region and more precisely in Ansongo circle located in the South-East (about 200 000 inhabitants) since 2014. The NGO's mobile teams provide medical and nutritional assistance in hard-to-reach places and for the most vulnerable people.

For the past two years, Première Urgence Internationale has been carrying out awareness-raising activities on water, hygiene and sanitation in 11 schools in Cameroon. In 2018 and 2019, 7,740 children and 180 teachers and parents benefited from awareness-raising programmes in newly equipped and sanitised schools.

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.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is still plagued by several deadly viral epidemics, including COVID-19 and the Ebola virus disease. Première Urgence Internationale is participating in the emergency health response to curb these two epidemics, and continues, at the same time, its vaccination campaign against measles in the provinces of Kasai and central Kasai. Between April and May 2020, more than 32,500 children were vaccinated against this deadly and highly contagious disease.

To help the Lebanese government face the COVID-19 epidemic, Première Urgence Internationale ensures the continuity of its services in the country, and recently started an additional emergency response, in close cooperation with other INGOs. During 45 days, the teams will be distributing personal protective equipment, setting up awareness training sessions, and support the setup of isolation centres. 

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.

Identified in a health center supported by Première Urgence Internationale, the first patient with Ebola virus in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, unfortunately died during his transfer to an Ebola treatment center in Butembo. An additional step is taken in this epidemic. All local authorities and the international community are mobilized to prevent the spread of the virus in this city of more than one million inhabitants.