Fighting COVID-19 in Colombia's Refugee, Migrant & Indigenous Communities

In recent weeks COVID-19 infection rates have accelerated rapidly in Colombia's peripheral regions and indigenous communities, while unemployment and evictions are afflicting Venezuelan migrants and refugees. In response to these deteriorating conditions, Malteser International Americas launched two projects in June that are fighting the impact of the pandemic.

The South American nation has recorded approximately 155,000 confirmed cases and over 5,000 deaths due to the coronavirus. Colombia implemented one of the strictest lockdowns in the region early on with all air-travel suspended, border closures (including with Venezuela), and heavy restrictions on mobility within cities and between regions.

The measures successfully delayed the propagation of the virus, yet the last several weeks have seen a marked spike on all indicators. It has also highlighted disparities in the country, with Amazonian indigenous tribes recording the highest per capita death rates, and viral stories of Venezuelan migrants and refugees left homeless and unable to access economic support.

It is estimated that 70,000 migrants and refugees have returned to Venezuela since the beginning of the pandemic -many by foot – risking their lives along the journey and putting their home communities at risk upon their return.

These circumstances have also challenged our ability to run humanitarian programs and services. “Our focus has been to maintain our primary health consultations for services like maternity care,” says Maria-Bonita Amorim, Medical Coordinator for MI Americas, “we have also adapted the way we work, established protocols for preventing infection among our staff, expanded mental health attention, and worked with our partners to deliver emergency food distributions to vulnerable families; both to migrants and refugees as well as Colombians.”

With the support of the United States Development Agency (USAID) and the German Federal Foreign Office , we are stepping-up these efforts and introducing new ways to respond to COVID-19, while giving communities the tools to prepare and manage health crises themselves.
VIDEO: Helping Venezuelan Migrants & Refugees Integrate Into Rural Host Communities

In Colombia’s northeastern department La Guajira, there are nearly 200,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants. La Guajira is a diverse region with a large indigenous and Afro-Colombian population. Many new arrivals are settling in rural communities where jobs, potable water and electricity are scarce, further straining the resources of the host communities. Our development and humanitarian activities support both migrants and locals to ease the burden on the host communities and prevent outburst of xenophobia. This video was shot in January of this year.
Malteser International Introduces Pediatric Care Programs in Venezuela

Photo by yobaniquintero, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16348511
When Malteser International Americas (MI Americas) Executive Director Ravi Tripptrap visited Venezuela last November, he witnessed first-hand the state of decay of the hospitals of Maracaibo, in the state of Zulia. Decrepit buildings, empty pediatric wards, and severe shortages of staff and medication plague the clinics of the country’s second-largest city.

“It seems like the economic crisis is far more apparent in Maracaibo, where up to 70% of the medical staff have migrated to Caracas or neighboring Colombia,” says Tripptrap. In fact, an estimated 1 million people have abandoned the city, leaving some of the most vulnerable residents behind.

Malteser International is enhancing the capacities of 3 pediatric hospitals in low to middle-income areas in Maracaibo, to provide life-saving medical and nutritional assistance to children and pregnant and lactating women.

In addition to providing multivitamin supplements for pregnant women and operational improvements to the emergency and nutritional departments, Malteser International will be offering cash incentives to hospital personnel to balance inflation and reduce migration of qualified health staff.

The program hopes to provide assistance to approximately 44,000 children and women in Maracaibo.
[Op-Ed] Ravi Tripptrap: "Do Not Forget the Wayuu Nation"
Photo: Florian Knopp / Malteser International
South America’s Wayuu Nation spans over 4,000 square miles of arid land in the northernmost tip of the continent. The political boundaries of Colombia and Venezuela have kept the Wayuu indigenous nation divided.

In northern Colombia, is La Guajira, one of the country’s poorest states, with depleted natural resources and a region vulnerable to natural disasters. Food insecurity and malnutrition have been of great concern for this population for years and with the arrival of migrants, the stressed system, just can’t take care of everyone.

A rapid assessment – conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – confirmed that 90% of rural indigenous communities are affected by the migration from Venezuela, leading to an increased strain on food security and morbidity of children under 5. It is estimated that 92% of La Guajira’s rural population lives in extreme poverty. This should be sobering for all.

Those who come offering assistance have to be strategic. The socio-cultural barriers the Wayuu face are significant. They already face discrimination and racism from the larger community. Educational materials – especially those related to health – should be translated into their language, Wayuunnaiki. Also, there should be an understanding of their cultural and spiritual practices so that any habit-changing behavior can be understood in the proper context.
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