Member Update
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Member Update
"We are hugely concerned about COVID-19 breaking out in La Guajira. The health services are already buckling under the strain caused by the large numbers of people living in desperate circumstances. If COVID-19 takes hold, it will be chaos and potentially lead to colossal loss of lives." says Marcela Bustamante, Regional Representative for HelpAge in Latin America and the Caribbean. As of late July, 395 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in La Guajira, and there have been 18 deaths, but this is in a context where testing facilities are hugely limited. There are fears that the pandemic will spread easily in the area where people live in inadequate and crowded conditions with an acute lack of water and sanitation facilities. There are nearly 5,000 older migrants and refugees that reside within La Guajira. According to a survey of the region—carried out by HelpAge in January 2020—84% of them have no handwashing facilities, and 78% have no access to safe drinking water. This has not improved since the outbreak of COVID-19 and created serious obstacles to protecting a population at risk from the virus. More Information
"We are hugely concerned about COVID-19 breaking out in La Guajira. The health services are already buckling under the strain caused by the large numbers of people living in desperate circumstances. If COVID-19 takes hold, it will be chaos and potentially lead to colossal loss of lives." says Marcela Bustamante, Regional Representative for HelpAge in Latin America and the Caribbean. As of late July, 395 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in La Guajira, and there have been 18 deaths, but this is in a context where testing facilities are hugely limited. There are fears that the pandemic will spread easily in the area where people live in inadequate and crowded conditions with an acute lack of water and sanitation facilities. There are nearly 5,000 older migrants and refugees that reside within La Guajira. According to a survey of the region—carried out by HelpAge in January 2020—84% of them have no handwashing facilities, and 78% have no access to safe drinking water. This has not improved since the outbreak of COVID-19 and created serious obstacles to protecting a population at risk from the virus. More Information
