The world’s most vulnerable countries could see up to 1 billion cases of the coronavirus. We have limited time in which to mount a robust response to the coronavirus while the virus is still in early stages in these communities, and frontline organizations like the IRC and CARE are in urgent need of funding.
The IRC and CARE are also working specifically to protect women and girls during this crisis. Women and girls are profoundly impacted by the pandemic, especially those living in poverty, in conflict settings, and in refugee camps, according to the findings from a Global Rapid Gender Analysis by CARE and the IRC. They are disproportionately represented among frontline workers, and they are facing escalating rates of domestic violence while access to services and help has decreased. Ensuring that the needs of women and girls are prioritized and their voices heard must be top of mind.
“From CARE’s 75 years of humanitarian response work, we know that disasters like this pandemic disproportionally affect the vulnerable,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE. “We will see this with COVID-19 as well, in developing countries and with women and girls. In communities around the world, where women are the primary caregivers at home and on the frontlines of healthcare in their communities, we need to ensure that women are protected and empowered as workers and leaders in the response.”
“Women and girls are the biggest losers in every emergency, suffering violence as well as poverty, and their needs are often neglected by government donors, so it is especially valuable to receive significant private support,” said David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. “Donations are crucial to helping us reach a segment of the population whose needs are often overlooked in times of crisis, and we are immensely grateful for any support you can provide.”