Caritas Internationalis:
‘bold actions needed to avoid post-pandemic catastrophe'
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| A young migrant is transferred from Moria camp in Lesbos, greece. Migrants are amongst the communities most at risk from the after-effects of the pandemic (AFP) |
Caritas Internationalis says donor countries need to act
immediately, with courage and boldness, or the aftermath of the Covid-19
pandemic will kill millions of people.
By Vatican News
Caritas Internationalis is highly concerned by the major
humanitarian crisis to which the post-pandemic is heading and urges the
international community to take courageous and immediate action.
In a statement, the Catholic Church’s global confederation
of humanitarian agencies, notes that in the last four months, international
political and media attention has rightly focused on the spread of the virus,
but warns of potentially catastrophic aftermath.
“The aftershock of the pandemic is announcing to be even
more complicated and more deadly than the impact of the virus itself,
especially for the most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries,” it
says.
The devastating effects of the lockdown on the global
economy have resulted in a World Food Programme projection that shows “the
number of people on the brink of starvation will double as a result of Covid-19
and could reach 230 million.”
Worst affected countries
“Africa is the worst affected continent, experiencing food
shortages, due to the lockdown, as well as a diversity of disasters such as
floods, drought, locust invasion, poor harvest,” the statement reads, and many
countries in “the Middle East, Latin America and in Asia are already on the verge
of a severe food crisis leading to child malnutrition, starvation of the
adults.”
Most vulnerable communities
Amongst the most vulnerable groups singled out by the
statement are migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees who
are also severely affected by the food crisis and lack of safe living
conditions.
“Undocumented migrants are another community that will be
the worst affected because they do not fall into any of the categories that can
get public aid,” it says.
‘An atypical emergency’
Caritas Internationalis’ Secretary-General, Aloysius John,
points out this is “an atypical emergency wherein the major donor countries are
the most affected by the virus. But we need to know that the diversion of
international aid to respond to national needs will not be the right solution.”
Therefore, Caritas Internationalis urges the international
community to:
- Suspend economic sanctions against Libya, Iran, Venezuela,
and Syria in order to enable the importation of medicines, medical equipment, and
basic necessities for the population.
- Give faith-based organizations the necessary means to
respond to priority needs as a result of Covid-19, which means carrying out
micro development programmes that can ensure food security for the poorest
communities, as well as humanitarian, health and cash assistance.
- Allocate additional funds for supporting the most
vulnerable communities to survive during this period of lockdown
- Ensure access to essential and affordable services for
IDPs and refugees, including access to their camps and ensure humanitarian aid.
“We can stop another major humanitarian crisis if courageous
and bold actions are taken to anticipate and support the most vulnerable
communities” John concludes, and underscores the fact that Caritas
Internationalis joins Pope Francis’ call to promote “creative global
solidarity” and look “beyond the Covid-19 response to avoid another major
humanitarian tragedy.”
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