International Development Committee Inquiry

Humanitarian crises monitoring: The impact of coronavirus

Written evidence from War Child UK

War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK in 1993 which provides assistance to children in areas experiencing and recovering from conflict. We provide education, protection and support with food security and livelihoods to children and their families, and communities. The evidence for this submission is based on inputs from War Child’s country teams, and UK-based specialist staff. Registered charity: 1071659

SUMMARY

• The global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the measures being taken in response to it, are significantly impacting on the welfare of children in conflict and exacerbating the risks they already face. The crisis will especially impact conflict-affected countries, urban slums, and camps for refugee and internally displaced people.
• War Child and our peer agencies are on the front line in these locations, working to: expand public health campaigns; supporting quarantined communities with cash and food assistance; supporting children to continue their education through remote learning; and family tracing and reunification for children separated from caregivers due to quarantine measures. In the longer term we have a central role in supporting communities to recover from the economic shock of mass quarantine.
• Lockdown measures in the UK are having a profound impact on international NGO fundraising. Many organisations are already cutting staffing costs, either through lays off, redundancies, cutting salaries or freezing posts. While quarantine measures endure, many fundraising activities are impossible. While the £750 million rescue package for charities in the UK and the £20 million pledge for international NGOs fighting the disease in developing countries is welcomed, much greater support is needed.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Child protection activities must be prioritised by NGOs, donors and governments in this crisis. To date child protection remains one of the most underfunded sectors relative to other sectors.

2. The UK government should develop a loan guarantee for charities needing overdrafts to cover cash flow and work with the insurance sector to cover COVID-19 under business interruption for charities.

3. National and local civil society have critical roles to play – both in support of government systems strengthening, and providing frontline assistance and protection, especially in conflict-affected areas. Their needs, analysis and responses must be fed into the government’s response. This must be backed up with flexible funding, including adequate and consistent support for organisational overheads and staff salaries.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

the emergence, incidence and spread of coronavirus virus infections and the Covid-19 disease in developing countries

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) weak health infrastructure has prevented the adequate testing and surveillance of disease transmission. There is only one laboratory, in the country of 80 million citizens, able to test potential COVID-19 samples. Because most airports and internal flights are shut down, it takes at least one week for samples coming from Eastern provinces to be tested in Kinshasa. The US has agreed to fund a second lab in Goma in order to increase this capacity, but it’s unclear when it will be ready. It’s also unlikely that it will bring the country’s testing capacity to a sufficient level.

the direct and indirect impacts of the outbreak on developing countries, and specific risks and threats (particularly relating to countries with existing humanitarian crises and/or substantial populations of refugees or internally displaced persons)

• The spread of COVID-19 and measures used to prevent and control its transmission will have a significant impact on children. Quarantine and isolation measures can all negatively impact children and their families with COVID-19 quickly changing the context in which children live. School closures and restrictions on movements disrupt children's routine and social support while also placing new stressors on parents and caregivers who may have to find new childcare options or forgo work. Stigma and discrimination related to COVID-19 may make children more vulnerable to violence and psychosocial distress. Disease control measures that do not consider the gender-specific needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls may also increase their protection risks and lead to negative coping mechanisms. Children and families who are already vulnerable due to socio-economic exclusion or those who live in overcrowded settings are particularly at risk. Major concerns for children in this context include the risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation, gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial distress, social exclusion, child labour, family separation, trafficking and malnutrition to name a few. The lack of basic necessities like clean water, hygiene products and cramped living quarters are likely to exacerbate this further.
• COVID-19 is highly likely to cause an increase in sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by those who have a responsibility to protect, such as aid workers. As children and adults become increasingly vulnerable due to the impact of COVID-19, reliance on aid agencies for access to life saving goods and services will increase thus creating a space for exploitation. Aid workers who are motivated to abuse and harm will seek out opportunities as part of the COVID response as monitoring mechanisms are reduced, agencies look to rapidly recruit and safe recruitment practices are not adhered to due to the increased pressure and burden to deliver new programmes.   Child-headed and female-headed households are acutely vulnerable to exploitation in emergencies as access to services decrease, the availability of aid declines, the burden on female carers increases and thus families look to employ negative coping mechanisms (early marriage, forced labour, trafficking etc) to survive. Sex in return for aid will increase as a survival mechanism. Children who are separated from their parents and carers due to hospitalisation and isolation are at increased risk of exploitation as their usual protection mechanisms are removed. Furthermore, access to reporting mechanisms and trusted adults will also decline as physical restrictions are implemented – the impact of the lack of access of humanitarian agencies should not be underestimated. Impunity, which is already rife in countries of War Child’s operations, will likely increase. Moreover, NGOs and authorities will have limited access to communities to investigate concerns and remove perpetrators if proven guilty. 
• In Yemen, institutional and economic fragility created by the conflict has left populations completely exposed to virus transmission and the de facto authorities unable to mitigate its impact.  Only 51% of Yemen’s health centres are fully functional. There is limited medicine, equipment and personal protection equipment available and only two testing sites (Sana’a and Aden). Current conflict escalation, displacement and overcrowding make it difficult to implement protection measures (social distancing, hand washing). Over 3.6 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict. One third live in camps and informal settlements which are overcrowded and lack proper access to sanitation. Poor media and lack of trust in public institutions makes it challenging to deliver behaviour change messaging. Yemen relies on imports for 80 - 90% of its basic needs, making it particularly vulnerable to disruptions in the world economy.[1] COVID-19 risks are pulling scarce resources from other lifesaving health responses including cholera and dengue. Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. Nearly 80% of the population requires some form of humanitarian assistance and protection. Ten million people are a step away from famine and 7 million people are malnourished.
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), COVID-19 is adding an additional vulnerability to IDPs and returnees who often live in confined areas where social distancing is not possible, and people have no means to access protective material such as masks and hand-cleaning gel. Additionally, dwellings often lack running water, and fetching water brings a risk of exposure. Community quarantine measures are particularly hard to enforce in a country where most people earn a subsistence income on a day by day base.

lessons identified and learned/applied from previous experience with infectious diseases (for example, Ebola); the implications for DFID’s policy on a global heath strategy

• As observed in the West Africa Ebola response in 2014-2015, despite significant challenges, local and national civil society organisations are best placed to urgently respond given their extensive knowledge of the existing strengths and vulnerabilities in their communities. Organisations are currently working and communicating critical risk information, countering misinformation and addressing the psychological, social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Due to the crisis, War Child will have to rely more heavily on partners to deliver goods and services, to act as monitors in the area of child protection and safeguarding and to increase the capacity of community-based protection mechanisms as access levels decrease. War Child recognises that working more closely with local and national partners will be the most sustainable approach to programming in the current context but that there is a responsibility to ensure local and national capacities are not overburdened and continue to receive external support.

the impact of the outbreak, and consequential mitigation measures, on fund-raising by UK-based development charities/NGOs

• While the £750million rescue package for charities in the UK and the £20 million pledge for international NGOs fighting the disease in developing countries is welcomed, additional support is needed. UK-based development charities are facing significant funding challenges. A survey by BOND found that 87% of BOND members are already cutting programmes and 60% having already made cuts to staffing costs, either through lays off, redundancies, cutting salaries or freezing posts. Simply put, while quarantine measures endure many fundraising activities are impossible.
• Much of the unrestricted fundraising that War Child undertakes relies on bringing groups of people together – whether this is for a music event, a breakfast to engage donors or our major annual fundraising event, the Christmas Wassail. In 2020, we were planning on a large number of these events, many of which are now not able to take place. Our fundraising focus on the music industry is very reliant on live events. Additionally, there is the impact that all charities are facing in the cancellation or postponement of community and challenge activities. We are also expecting that the economic downturn will impact on the ability of our donors to give philanthropically – at every level. We are already seeing increased cancellations of our direct debit donors. We have conducted a reforecast activity, given what we know now, and anticipate a significant shortfall in our fundraising this year as a direct impact of COVID-19.