The humanitarian response to COVID-19 in Somalia will increase capital flight and violent conflict

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As Somalia braces for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, debt relief will not help prepare it for the financial and political catastrophe ahead. This article brings together research on Somali politics, business and the politics of aid to argue a massive influx of humanitarian spending, as proposed, will exacerbate the country’s financial hardships and violence.   Read more

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The COVID-19 pandemic is shining an unforgiving light on the world’s most vulnerable and marginal people

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This opinion piece argues that the COVID-19 pandemic is shining an unforgiving light on the world’s most vulnerable and marginal people, and that our only hope is that as Governments respond to this looming health crisis, the pandemic can also accelerate their longer-term commitment to protect and assist IDPs who face the greatest risks, and find ways to end the displacement within their borders.   Read more

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COVID-19 in fragile settings: Ensuring a conflict-sensitive response

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Violent conflict often exacerbates the spread of infectious diseases, as seen in the recent resurgence of polio in Syria, cholera outbreaks in the conflict zones in Yemen, and the persistence of Ebola in insecure eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Between 2009 and 2017, in fact, there were 364 disease outbreaks in 108 refugee camps. Fragility and conflict reverse hard-won development gains and stunt opportunities for children, youth, and the poorest people….

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South Sudan’s food imports in the time of COVID-19

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The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) of 2020 is likely to have profound effects on stressed food systems in already hungry countries. Even before South Sudan reported its first COVID-19 case at the beginning of April, media reports indicated that the pandemic had led to restrictions on the movement of goods from neighbouring countries, which affected prices in markets across the country. In Juba, the price of a kilogram of maize flour increased from 159 South Sudanese…

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Are local and international aid worker disparities worsening under COVID-19?

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This article addresses the distinction drawn between the employees who arrive mostly from Western countries, often for time-limited assignments and are called “expats” or “international” staff, and their “local” counterparts, drawn from the country where the response is taking place, and specifically looks at different treatment these employees receive in response to COVID-19.   Read more

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Responding to COVID-19: Guidance for humanitarian agencies

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How should humanitarian organisations prepare and respond to COVID-19 in humanitarian settings in low- and middle-income countries? This Rapid Learning Review outlines 14 actions, insights and ideas for humanitarian actors to consider in their COVID-19 responses. It summarises and synthesises the best available knowledge and guidance for developing a health response to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income settings as at April 2020 The paper, supported by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator…

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Resources for Community Engagement during Covid-19

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Community engagement is vital during the Coronavirus pandemic. Oxfam’s experience of working humanitarian contexts, and in the recent Ebola and Zika outbreaks, has shown that the best way to respond is to build trust in communities and services, understand community perspectives and share information, and work with communities to determine how to keep people safe. This set of three resources captures good practice for community engagement during epidemics in a guidance note, a helpful checklist…

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The Impact of Sanctions on Humanitarian Response to COVID-19

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As COVID-19 begins to spread to the most fragile regions of the world, humanitarian organizations are facing pre-existing hurdles—often diffuse and indirect—hindering the deployment of an appropriate and timely response to the virus in countries under sanctions. Sanctioned jurisdictions represent around 75% of the beneficiary states of the United Nations (UN) Global Humanitarian Response Plan to COVID-19. With urgency growing by the day, what can the UN system, particularly the UN Security Council, do to…

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The Politics of Food in the Time of COVID-19

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The intersection of the pandemic and hunger sets the stage for the politicization of urgent humanitarian assistance, particularly food. Around the world, leaders who are insecure about their own popularity and legitimacy often compensate by placing a high priority on projecting strength and control. These leaders may be particularly anxious about responding to COVID-19. The threat is difficult to counter and it resists permanent solutions, foreclosing opportunities to bask in the glow of victory. Worse…

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COVID-19 in humanitarian crises: A double emergency

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The International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) analysis and approach to COVID-19 draws on decades of experi-ence as a humanitarian and health responder in the world’s most complex crises, including as one of the largest responders to the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa and the DRC and Cholera in Yemen – the largest outbreaks of the diseases in modern history. IRC’s experience finds conflict-affected and fragile countries face a double emergency: 1. The direct impact of COVID-19…

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