Image credits and information
Elizabeth Iornenge with her three grandchildren outside their home in Benue State, Nigeria. Credit: Latitude Space/ Christian Aid
Stand with your global neighbours
You can provide the tools desperately needed to fight coronavirus.
We're responding now
Christian Aid is responding to the coronavirus outbreak in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. We're working together with partners and faith leaders to inform people about the risks, offering vital hygiene training, equipping health facilities with supplies, and providing food packages to the most marginalised families. Click on the map below to read more about how we're fighting coronavirus around the world.
Coronavirus response: Colombia
Our work in Colombia has long focused on peace building and gender justice. As a result of coronavirus, millions of people have been left without access to health services, dependent on the informal economy to survive, or experiencing violence.
We are helping to amplify the voices of those most in need and providing humanitarian assistance in difficult to reach communities. In Bogotá we have paid for food packages for families who have been unable to earn an income since the lockdown.
Coronavirus response: Angola
The government in Angola has declared a state of emergency and asked all citizens to stay at home. Our partners are running community awareness campaigns and distributing soap to people living on the street.
An online campaign is raising awareness of the risk of domestic violence during lockdown and pushing for the introduction of an emergency number which people can call to report incidents of abuse.
Coronavirus response: Burundi
In Burundi we are responding to the pandemic in two southern provinces: Rumonge and Makamba. Our partners are raising awareness of the importance of physical distancing and regular handwashing.
They are distributing kits containing soap and water containers to over 1,300 families, 40 community groups and 200 churches across both provinces. Handwashing kits are also being distributed to 60 schools for use by almost 27,000 children.
Coronavirus response: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
With funding from Irish Aid, we have been able to reach thousands of vulnerable families in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Local partner ECC MERU is using community radio to raise awareness of the importance of physical distancing and regular hand washing.
We are promoting health messaging via loud speaker announcements in three villages in Kalehe Territory in South Kivu. In one of these villages, we have provided soap, water and jerry cans to over 1,300 people. We have also built three wells to ensure that almost 8,000 people have access to clean water for regular hand washing.
Coronavirus response: Ethiopia
With funding from Irish Aid, our partners are raising awareness of the importance of regular hand washing and physical distancing through leaflets, posters and public service announcements. Faith leaders are also being supported to share health messaging within their communities.
We are also providing soap and water buckets complete with taps to 500 vulnerable families at higher risk of the virus and setting up 25 handwashing stations at community centres, health centres and distribution and training sites.
With funding from the Scottish Government, we are working in South Omo province to eliminate the locust infestation within the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus response: Indonesia
In Indonesia our response has focused on reducing the risk of coronavirus spreading to vulnerable people living with HIV/AIDS. Partners are providing hygiene kits to people living with HIV/AIDS which contain soap, hand sanitiser, antiseptic wipes, masks and multi-vitamin supplements.
We are also raising awareness of coronavirus through posters and leaflets about proper handwashing techniques, and etiquette around coughing and sneezing. We are supporting a local medical facility to ensure that they continue to provide medical treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Coronavirus response: Kenya
Our work in Kenya focuses on providing clear health information about coronavirus and minimising the impacts of lockdown. In collaboration with the government, our partners are co-ordinating awareness campaigns in local languages about how the virus can be caught and spread. We are setting up handwashing points and signposting people towards hotlines and healthcare facilities when they become sick.
We are campaigning the Kenyan government to ensure that rural communities continue to receive vital goods and services. We are providing a range of advice and support for women at increased risk of physical and sexual violence during lockdown.
Coronavirus response: Lebanon
Education and advocacy are key areas of work in Lebanon. Our partners are providing support and information about Covid-19 via phone, video and leaflets. We have set up online learning courses to support children and parents during the crisis.
Our partners who are involved in prisoner rehabilitation schemes are advocating for the release of adolescent boys held on minor convictions. In overcrowded prisons, it is impossible to practice physical distancing.
We are also distributing food vouchers to Palestinian and Syrian refugee families who are out of work because of the lockdown.
Coronavirus response: Malawi
In Malawi, our partners have been raising awareness of Covid-19 in the displacement camps which have become home to those who lost their homes after Cyclone Idai in 2019.
In other regions of the country, we are providing accurate health information through community radio. Working alongside health workers, we are visiting schools to demonstrate the proper technique for thorough handwashing.
With funding from the EU, we have adapted a project which supports rural women entrepreneurs so that they can respond to coronavirus. They have learned how to make soap which they are now selling to the local community.
Coronavirus response: Syria
Our humanitarian and education work in Syria is continuing, albeit with coronavirus adaptations.
Our partners in north west Syria are raising awareness within communities about the need for physical distancing and regular handwashing to prevent the spread of the virus. They are also educating recently trained First Aid students on how to safely respond to someone with Covid-19 symptoms.
We are keeping in touch with students online through classes, e-books and prepaid internet cards.
Our humanitarian staff are safeguarded with gloves and masks as they distribute blankets and other essential items to those who have fled their homes due to aerial bombardments.
Coronavirus: Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories
In Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories, our partners are focusing on advocacy, human rights and access to healthcare during lockdown.
We are campaigning for Covid-19 testing and healthcare services to be provided for remote communities. Health updates and information about handwashing and physical distancing is now available in both Arabic and Hebrew to many vulnerable groups. Emotional support and legal counselling is being provided to women and girls who have survived sexual and physical violence. We are also calling for essential medical supplies and equipment to reach Gaza.
Farmers are being supported to safely supply food to vulnerable families in Gaza and the West Bank.
Coronavirus response: Brazil
We're working to protect communities in Brazil from the spread of this virus.
Coronavirus response: El Salvador
We're working to protect the most vulnerable communities from coronavirus.
Coronavirus response: Dominican Republic
We're working to keep the most vulnerable communities safe from coronavirus.
Coronavirus response: Guatemala
We're working to keep the most vulnerable communities in Guatemala safe from coronavirus.
Coronavirus response: Haiti
We're working to keep the most vulnerable communities in Haiti safe from coronavirus.
Coronavirus response: Honduras
We're working to keep the most vulnerable communities in Honduras safe from coronavirus.
Coronavirus response: Nicaragua
We're working to keep the most vulnerable communities in Nicaragua safe from coronavirus.
Coronavirus response: Sierra Leone
Through our Health Legacy project, we are reaching vulnerable communities in Pujehun district with accurate information about the signs and preventive measures for Covid-19. We are promoting hand-washing and hygiene practices and providing people with food and cash support whose livelihoods have been impacted by lockdown.
With funding from Irish Aid we are supporting the setup of two emergency response centres in Kono and Kailahun districts and increasing awareness using radio jingles. In five districts we are providing handwashing stations and face masks for workers, volunteers and vulnerable communities.
With funding from UK aid we are monitoring and tracking government spending on Covid-19 to ensure accountability.
Coronavirus response: Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, we are ensuring that 15,000 people have enough water to wash their hands regularly. We are also supporting communities in Mudzi and Mutoko whose livelihoods have been impacted by Covid-19. We are providing food hampers to 5,400 people. We are helping young people return to apprenticeships and supporting farmers to get the most from their smallholdings with the help of small loans.
Coronavirus response: India
In India our local partners are sharing vital health and hygiene messages and empowering vulnerable people to access the government support they are entitled to.
Afghanistan
Our local partners are supporting fragile communities in Afghanistan with food provisions, hygiene kits, and promoting reliable information about Covid-19.
Love unites us all
Your global neighbours urgently need your help. Please support our response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Will you help vulnerable families protect themselves against coronavirus?
Soap. Masks. Hand sanitiser. Vital weapons against coronavirus. But in remote Benue State, Nigeria – an area ravaged by violent conflict, crop failure and HIV/AIDs – many families can’t afford these essentials. They can barely afford to eat.
Here, households are often run by women, orphans, and people with disabilities. Now, a new strain of Covid-19 is putting these already vulnerable lives at risk. We urgently need your help to distribute vital hygiene kits to those in desperate need of protection.
Kits include soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, hand sanitiser, face masks and other essentials such as nappies and sanitary towels. Just £5 from you today will help put a vital hygiene kit into the hands of someone whose life it could save.
Please donate now. Don’t wait. They can’t.