Health and Healthcare Systems

What we can learn from refugees in the fight against COVID-19

Front-line health workers  prepare for action in the newly opened UNHCR SARI ITC ; The humanitarian community intends to prepare a total of 1,900 SARI ITC beds for both refugees and host community in Cox's Bazar District.Today, 21 May UNHCR inaugurated our second Sever Acute Respiratory Infection  Isolation and Treatment Centres in Cox's Bazar. Two SARI ITC's were inaugurated this week - the first in Cox's Bazar and will provide care for those with severe symptoms amongst both the refugee and the local population. A total of almost 200 beds are now ready and available for patients.

A health worker prepares for action on the COVID-19 frontlines at a new UNHCR isolation and treatment centre in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Image: UNHCR/Louise Donovan

Filippo Grandi
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR)

• Eighty million displaced people worldwide are among those most at risk during the coronavirus pandemic.

• The private sector has a key role to play in helping to provide refugees with aid and education.

• Refugees' resilience provides an example to follow in dealing with crises.

Refugees are no strangers to crises. Their difficult journeys to flee violence and persecution and rebuild their lives in an unfamiliar place have made them resourceful and resilient, and acutely aware of the importance of solidarity to create a better future for themselves and their loved ones.

This World Refugee Day (20 June), I want to bring special attention to the refugees working to fight against COVID-19. There are refugee health workers on the frontlines, tending to the sick alongside their peers in host communities. In refugee camps, where people are more at risk of the virus due to overcrowding and fragile healthcare facilities, refugees are also volunteering their efforts. In one week, Samir, a 24-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and his team sewed 300 masks for people at Kakuma camp in Kenya. In Angola, a group of Congolese refugees started a blog to raise awareness about COVID-19.

Have you read?

There are many more inspiring stories such as these. As we celebrate the courage and solidarity of refugees who are giving back to their communities, we cannot forget all the challenges they face.

COVID-19 respects no boundaries. Everyone is at risk. Some of the most at risk, however, are the nearly 80 million displaced people worldwide. Eighty percent of them are in countries or territories affected by acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Imagine going through this crisis without access to soap, clean water or enough food. No hope of isolating your family because you don’t have a home to stay safely inside. That’s the reality for millions of refugees.

Not only that, the pandemic has compounded existing challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, discrimination, and access to health services, livelihoods and education. COVID-19 is a new emergency on top of existing ones.

Loading...

Since I started as High Commissioner, I have seen the valuable contributions made by our private sector partners, which have transformed the lives of refugees and the communities hosting them. Innovative businesses have worked with us to overcome barriers and develop solutions. The COVID-19 crisis has shown us that we need further collaboration to address this new challenge. We each have a role to play. Everyone can make a difference, and every action counts.

There are many ways to help. Businesses can provide support on logistics, transportation and supply to deliver humanitarian aid, or employ refugees, which is a win-win, especially for sectors with increased labour demand due to COVID-19. Ensuring continued access of refugee children to education is also a priority, and support is needed in areas such as connected learning. Private partners can also support cash assistance programmes to help cover basic needs. Financial service providers can offer access to credit, savings and insurance.

We can all use our voices and our communication channels to raise awareness and stand in solidarity with those who need it most. Together, we have the vital task of ensuring that we support the protection of people forced to flee, counter harmful stories rooted in prejudice, and help mobilize public- and private-sector support. We all have a role to play in shaping the narrative.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing to manage emerging risks from COVID-19?

2020 has confronted us with a global health crisis that requires united action on an unprecedented scale, a crisis in which old certainties are being shaken, leaving us to face the unknown. It is a time to raise the hard questions, and, as we work to rebuild our economies and societies, ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in.

Responding to this crisis is an extraordinary test of our resilience. I hope that we all take wisdom from our lessons learned from refugees and follow the path of solidarity and inclusion.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Migration

Related topics:
Health and Healthcare SystemsGlobal Risks
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Migration is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Global leaders are transforming the conversation on women’s health. Here's how

Alaa Murabit and Amira Ghouaibi

November 12, 2024

4 ways AI is improving healthcare, according to one of the world's largest medical groups

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum