Santé

Emergency response in Beirut: almost two months after the blast that blew Beirut on August 4th, Première Urgence Internationale keeps intervening alongside the populations, to respond both their short-term and longer-term needs of assistance. The humanitarian teams act on health and shelter sectors, in the city as well as in the whole country.

Since December 2019, Première Urgence Internationale managed for nine months the provision of primary free health care services in the reopened camp of Bardarash, Kurdistan region of Iraq. The teams ensured individual mental health follow-up and counselling, as well as training of Iraqi doctors to improve the services provided inside the camp.

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.

The massive and deadly explosion that blew the port of Beirut on Tuesday, August 4th, has dramatic consequences for the populations of Lebanon, already affected by multiple crises. Première Urgence Internationale is part of the immediate response and is mobilizing all its teams and resources to help recover the battered capital.

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.

Ce 28 juillet 2020 marque le dixième anniversaire de la reconnaissance des droits humains à l'eau et à l'assainissement par l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies (A/RES/64/292) En pleine période de crise sanitaire, cette date nous rappelle l’importance vitale d’un accès universel à l’eau et à l’assainissement et questionne les avancées réalisées en la matière. Pour l’occasion, les associations françaises se mobilisent au travers de la campagne « L’eau est un droit ».

In 2020, communities in Chad are still vulnerable to malnutrition. The challenging climate, limited access to water, poor crop production, and insufficient medical infrastructure have created a crisis situation to which the COVID-19 pandemic now also contributes. For two years, Première Urgence Internationale has been working in close cooperation with mothers and guardians to make diagnosis easier and to treat seriously ill children more quickly.

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.

On the 15th of March 2020, the Syrian crisis entered its 10th year. A week later, the first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported in Syria. The 9 years of conflict have already left the country battered, but the COVID-19 pandemic has presented yet another challenge for an overburdened and fragile social protection system. Against this backdrop, Première Urgence Internationale was one of the first organizations that responded quickly to address the emerging urgent needs in Syria. With the support of partners, the NGO has worked across its sectors to contribute to common efforts working on preventing a spiraling COVID-19 outbreak in Syria.