**This article is written By Hanin Odeh, Apolitical Insider Fellow, NGO Leader, Jordan. This article is edited by Ayooshee Dookhee, Governance and Policy, World Economic Forum and Apolitical Insider Fellow.
**

Nearly 85% of refugees live in developing countries, posing a strain on their economies and in particular, their health services. The Covid-19 crisis is hard-hitting on refugee-hosting countries where they are already falling short of providing basic services and funding their response plans. Refugees themselves are bearing the brunt of Covid-19 and its harsh implications. Similarly, if not worse than other vulnerable groups such as daily wage workers, refugees’ livelihoods, access to basic needs and border mobility were heavily impacted, while cash at hand (if available) quickly dried up. During the past months, developing countries hosting large numbers of refugees struggled to respond to this ‘double crisis’ at once.

As someone from one of these countries, working with civil society’s refugee serving programs in cooperation with government, I draw some of the lessons that are helping a country like Jordan (second largest country hosting refugees globally) combat Covid-19. Whether public servants are working for governments that are hosting refugees, or for governments that are supporting other host countries with their response, this article sheds light on some considerations for policymakers to ensure their Covid-19 response is leaving no one behind.

Access

Viruses do not discriminate based on nationality, thus including refugees in Covid-19 response plans is a must. In Jordan, only one in five Syrian refugees live in refugee camps, while the majority are in urban communities.

Where refugees are residing in highly populated host communities (outside the contained camp setting), it makes no sense for preventive or protective measures to differentiate between citizens and non-citizens. Access to healthcare and to personal protection equipment, medications, treatment, and testing needs to be provided indiscriminately.

Online education may continue for a lifetime, and refugees cannot miss out

Governments may need to reconsider their border and port closures and other import/export activities to support uninterrupted supply chains for humanitarian supplies and essential products such as masks to prevent the virus from spreading. Moreover, local distribution mechanisms during forced lockdown for such items, medications and even food parcels need to be in place to ensure efficient and timely delivery. There is great benefit in allowing smaller actors (CSOs, NGOs, CBOs, and grassroots organisations) to immediately resume operations to enhance reach and accessibility of services. In Jordan, agencies such as UNHCR, UNRWA, and INGOs were able to deliver thousands of medications through ‘home delivery’ whether through volunteers or outsourced delivery services.

In addition to access to such supplies, access to IT tools proved to be essential and an opportunity for access to better services, especially during lockdown. For example, education and learning, globally went online using apps and web-based platforms, refugees seem to have a golden opportunity for equitable quality education. To seize such an opportunity, we must not make the assumption that this offline to online transition can be done among refugees, who lack the needed IT literacy, connectivity, or the ‘phones’ to enable access such websites and apps. It is important to invest in programs bridge this gap, as online education may continue for a lifetime, and refugees cannot miss out.

Be mindful of the reality

Refugees, even in urban communities, require us to think not only about sensitive risk communication messaging, but also about policies sensitive to their reality. Policies mandating certain types of masks (unaffordable), or require social distancing in high dense areas, or self-isolation where refugees occupy 3-4 persons per room, are deemed inapplicable under such living conditions. Preventive measures need to be responsive and relevant. When some countries considered online travel permits, during lockdown, it rendered application impossible for many paperless refugees. In Jordan, even allowing walking to nearest shops to buy essential goods, posed a challenge. Many refugees reported that they did not have the cash to buy basic food items, or that they could not access medicines within walking distance.

Learn from Data

The continued reliance on data to understand the magnitude of issues faced by refugees, geography and to identify their priorities is instrumental. Fast-tracking the registration of refugees while important, should not hold back quick action. Multi-sectoral rapid assessments, surveys and polls to inform behavioural insights, perceptions, service utilisation and uptake of information, were done in multiple countries hosting refugees not only during Covid-19 but also well before that. During Covid-19, it has become easier to factor in data to fine tune policies, and have more relevant and inclusive interventions.

Draw the parallels

Refugees and Covid-19 seem to have become two protracted global crises. From their “refugee-hosting” experience, some countries were a step ahead in having already identified partners and actors and established coordination mechanisms. Policymakers can easily look into the convergences and linkages between national refugee response plans and Covid-19 response plans.

Turning to refugees as a resource not as a burden could support bridge some gaps in the job market and service delivery, especially in times of crisis

Jordan’s refugee response plan was launched last month. This is one of many previous plans that already existed. Funding schemes and multi-donor accounts are established. Working groups to all sectors were available. Government, UN institutions, refugees, civil society and donors have built rapport prior to Covid-19.

This all helped in immediately activating cooperation channels and made possible quick turnaround of interventions — even over a Zoom or Skype call.

Advocate for support

Enhance self-reliance and resilience of refugees through engagement in the labour market including the formal economy. In Jordan over 100,000 Syrian refugees have work permits. Many refugees are day workers in the non-formal sector who found themselves jobless from the start of the lockdowns and the accompanying tight measures.

Advocacy efforts, pledges and calls for support by developing countries need to continue to fund their ability as host countries to provide services, include refugees in cash assistance schemes, and other safety net protection measures. Support to host governments’ economic recovery packages is essential to ensure a healthy and equitable reboot to their economy.

Refugees stepping up

Turning to refugees as a resource not as a burden could support bridge some gaps in the job market and service delivery, especially in times of crisis. Moreover, providing platforms and fostering the innovative and entrepreneurial ideas of refugees to respond to some of their challenges, could speed up overcoming them. On World Refugee Day 2020, endless inspiring stories highlighted how refugees from Somalia to Venezuela, played a role in combatting Covid-19, whether as frontline workers providing medical care, disseminating and translating awareness messages, or by making soaps and masks for their communities.

Conclusion

When the crisis hit, governments globally found themselves having to quickly react to the health emergency they knew little about. Governments of countries hosting refugees have the additional responsibility to cater for urgent and basic needs, while also balancing between that and their own "development agenda", in terms of poverty reduction, unemployment, fiscal reforms, and so on. Covid-19 provides an opportunity to further explore that nexus between development and emergency where response actions are not just meeting immediate needs, but mitigating vulnerability and investing in building resilience for host countries and refugees alike. It provides a larger space for collaboration, forging sustainable partnerships and adopting a wider lens while looking into options and policies to combat the pandemic. These are unusual times that require unusual efforts for innovation and collaboration to safeguard our shared responsibility towards refugees, migrants and IDPs, whilst simultaneously fighting this seemingly medium to long-term public health crisis. — Hanin Odeh

(Picture credit: Unsplash)