The corona pandemic presents the DAHW German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Aid from Würzburg with major challenges in order to protect the particularly vulnerable and marginalized people in the countries of operation as best as possible.
At first glance, the mandate diseases of the DAHW do not have much to do with the disease “Covid-19” caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus: tuberculosis, leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases are bacterial infectious diseases that can be treated with antibiotics and especially meet people in poorer countries.
But in the meantime, Covid-19, for which there is currently no antidote and no vaccination, has arrived in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and could have devastating consequences for people there, writes the Würzburg aid agency in a press release.
Simple preventive measures cannot be carried out
While in Germany older people and people with previous illnesses belong to the so-called “risk group”, in the countries where the DAHW is deployed it is already sick people and actually everyone who has to live in poor conditions in a small space, with poor access to water, basic hygiene and sufficient Nutrition.
These people have no reserves – neither health, financial nor material – to cope with the consequences of the rapid spread of the coronavirus and national protective measures. The spread can hardly be prevented under the adverse circumstances: simple preventive measures such as thorough hand washing cannot be carried out due to lack of water and a lack of soap.
No work, no money and no basic services
You cannot even maintain minimum distances in the confines of poor housing, slums or prisons. “Especially in the completely overcrowded, sometimes huge refugee camps in our project regions in Africa and Asia, but also in Europe and the Middle East, people have no chance to stick to the so-called ‘social distancing’ or ‘physical distancing’,” says DAHW managing director Burkard Kömm.
In addition, people are directly dependent on daily work – without home office, short-time work or continued payment of wages in the event of illness. Kömm predicts: “A great many can no longer produce or buy food for themselves and their families, which is why hunger is actually the greater threat than the corona virus itself.”
When health systems in poor countries collapse
“Anyone who sees the challenge posed by the corona pandemic to well-positioned health systems does not need much imagination to imagine the situation in countries with weaker infrastructures,” said Kömm in March. In the DAHW countries of operation there is next to no additional capacity, hardly any protective equipment for the staff, a limited number of tests and very few intensive care treatment options, which are usually only available in large cities.
“As a result, people die of curable diseases or injuries, women lose their lives due to birth complications,” says Kömm. In the end, this would cost significantly more lives than the virus itself. Training and protective equipment for the previously ill risk groups, the caring relatives and health workers as well as functioning early warning systems are required.
The aid organization founded in Würzburg provides on-site support
Together with local partner organizations, the relief organization founded in Würzburg in 1957 is looking for solutions to support particularly vulnerable people in this difficult situation. The measures that have been implemented at short notice so far are diverse: in India, food packages have been distributed to migrant workers, medication is delivered home to patients without contact in Uganda, protective and disinfection equipment is distributed in prisons in Togo, and corona training for health workers has been carried out in Afghanistan.
“Even if we do not treat Covid-19 in our current 20 countries of operation, we can help ensure that marginalized groups of people are not forgotten in the wake of the corona pandemic and alleviate the plight,” says Kömm.
additional Information on the Internet at www.dahw.de/corona
Photo: Mario Schmitt
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