ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross

Published purpose

March 2020 - A new coronavirus emerged in Wuhan City in the Hubei Province of China. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”, after human-to-human transmission caused the disease to spread globally. On March 11, 2020, the outbreak was officially declared a pandemic. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is scaling up its response to the crisis, including through adapting its programmes to address the needs and challenges related to the pandemic in conflict settings. The ICRC is coordinating with rest of the Red Cross Movement including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and National Societies to support a local and global response to the crisis. With GAC’s support, the ICRC is supporting the maintenance of vital health infrastructure, efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in places of detention, as well as efforts to ensure communities have access to clean water in conflict-affected countries impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Project activities include: (1) increasing technical, financial and material assistance to hospitals; (2) working with authorities and national societies to set up prevention measures and strengthen standard practices for detainees; and (3) scaling up ongoing activities related to the construction or repair of water supply and sanitation facilities.