Summary:
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The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is concerned about the safety of women and girls during the response.
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As of now, Ebola has been linked to up to 60 cases, 23 confirmed deaths, and 20 possible deaths.
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In order to provide services to hard-to-reach locations and homes with little access to health centres or women’s support centres, the IRC will also collaborate with local organisations like Village Health Teams (VHTs) and through IRC protection and response officers.
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The IRC is highly skilled in preventing and controlling Ebola virus infections.
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In 2012, the IRC began assisting refugees and those in need in Kampala.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is worried about the safety of women and girls during the response. This is because the number of Ebola cases and deaths is still going up, and the Ugandan president has recently given strict orders, such as a curfew and limits on movement in high-risk areas. As of now, Ebola has been linked to up to 60 cases, 23 confirmed deaths, and 20 possible deaths.
In response to the outbreak, a number of organizations, such as the IRC, have started working with the Ministry of Health to help. Several studies, including a fast assessment done by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the Ebola outbreak in 2018, found that women were more likely to get the disease because they took care of the sick and elderly. Because of this, women account for more than half of all Ebola infections.
Since more people were washing their hands and doing other preventive things with water, women and girls had to walk farther to get water. This may have made them more vulnerable to sexual assault and harassment.
IRC Uganda Country Director Elijah Okeyo stated,
“Women and girls are invariably vulnerable to physical, mental, and sexual harassment or assault, even in the absence of an outbreak or crisis. This is because of the ways families and communities have always treated men and women differently. Because of the Ebola outbreak, the bad effects of these differences will almost certainly get worse. This was seen in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, where women and girls were disproportionately affected, increasing both domestic and sexual violence. In emergencies, the IRC has always had programs for women and girls in all of the areas where it works. During this Ebola outbreak, we will continue to work with the Uganda Ministry of Health to offer integrated health programs. These programs will include both direct health services and services related to gender-based violence (GBV). All 34 health centers that the IRC supports will offer this full range of services, and the 26 IRC women’s support centers in the six refugee settlements where we work will also offer care for GBV.
The IRC will work with local groups like Village Health Teams (VHTs) and IRC protection and response officers to help people in hard-to-reach places and homes that aren’t close to health centers or women’s support centers. This will help them get the help they need. These will also offer GBV response services and recognise vulnerable women and girls for additional support.
The IRC is highly skilled in preventing and controlling Ebola virus infections. In 2018, there have been several outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in 2019, there was an outbreak in Uganda. In regions where it supports primary healthcare services, the IRC seeks to safeguard women and girls and to incorporate Ebola-related protective issues. The IRC also sought to stop the West African outbreaks in Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2016.
In 1998, after the Lord’s Resistance Army forced a lot of people to move, the IRC started running programs in northern Uganda. Since then, the IRC has grown to offer vital services to needy Ugandans and refugees across the entire nation. In 2012, the IRC began assisting refugees and those in need in Kampala. In 2019, the IRC moved to the Tooro region to help refugees and provide services to help the region prepare for and deal with epidemics. In addition to giving immediate help, the IRC invests in the long-term stability of Ugandans and refugees through programs like family planning, legal aid, women’s empowerment, and education, and helps them find ways to make a living. In more recent times, IRC has helped Afghan refugees in Uganda.
distributed by the APO Group on behalf of the International Rescue Committee.
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Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
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