Attempts to curb the spread of Covid-19 are doomed to failure unless refugees are included in vaccination drives, a leading humanitarian told a Dubai aid event on Monday.
Ann Encontre, who works for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ethiopia, said the pandemic left displaced people in an even worse predicament than ever.
Speaking at the Dubai International Human Aid and Development conference on Monday, Ms Encontre said everyone would lose if refugees were left behind when it came to inoculations.
A lot of humanitarian aid is used to fix infrastructure issues like bridges when the money would be better used on food and education
"I cannot advocate strongly enough that refugees must not be forgotten," she told The National. "There is so much work that needs to be done to ensure they are registered and vaccinated like anyone else," she said.
"If all civilians are vaccinated but refugees are not then we are back to square one.”
She said Covid-19 was creating new challenges for humanitarians already facing an uphill struggle to help refugees in Ethiopia.
“We had to re-educate a lot of people as many have a culture of eating ... together and doing everything together, in fact,” she said, referring to the challenges of enforcing social distancing in Ethiopia's 26 refugee camps.
“We increased the number of water points to try and get the message across. The hardest task we had was to get the message across about the importance of social distancing.”
The scale of the task is immense and has been worsened by violence in the northern region of Tigray. About a million people are believed to be displaced there, after fighting began there in November. Up to 25 people shelter in a single home in some cases.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, ordered troops to the region last November saying he was responding to alleged attacks on federal army camps by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
“When the schools were closed, we had more than 250,000 children affected,” Ms Encontre said.
“We had no access to telecommunications or the internet which meant we could not change classroom methods, like in some other countries, so there was no school for a year.”
Ethiopia has reported more than 176,000 cases of Covid-19 with 2,555 deaths to date.
The International Organisation for Migration said more than 1.8 million people have been internally displaced there out of a population of 112 million.
Ms Encontre said the pandemic hit women and children the hardest.
“Women refugees can often have several children who are very close in age, which creates issues especially when they are not in school any more,” she said.
“Finding something to occupy them when you have no television or internet can prove really difficult, particularly for adolescent males.
"It can be a very trying time for mothers to cook, clean and keep their sons out of mischief at the same time ."
Ms Encontre said part of the problem was not only that the amount of aid being sent was not enough but that it often was not spent in the right areas.
“The resources are never enough. Since Tigray, more and more people are on the move, which means we need more,” she said.
“Shrinking humanitarian space is a reality of life in Ethiopia.”
More needed to be done to help refugees become self-reliant, she said.
“There needs to be a smarter use of humanitarian money. At the moment, a lot of humanitarian aid is used to fix infrastructure issues like bridges when the money would be better used on food and education.”
Dihad will continue at Dubai's World Trade Centre until Wednesday and is focusing on humanitarian aid and Covid-19 in Africa.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The biog
Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas
Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More coverage from the Future Forum
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Company%C2%A0profile
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
