In Malawi, a country with a population of over 18 million, they have to cope with just 17 ventilators and 25 ICU beds. While our lives have been abruptly changed by COVID 19, this comparison is a stark reminder of the crisis continuing to develop in the poorest countries in the world.

As a result, United Purpose is seeking funding for an emergency response – and we’re asking for your help. 

We aim to raise £500,000 through an emergency appeal to support at-risk communities in the nine countries we work in: Malawi, Mozambique, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia, Bangladesh and Brazil.

 What makes the poorest countries so vulnerable to Coronavirus?

• Weak national healthcare systems

• Poor access to basic hygiene facilities including clean water and soap

• Densely populated communities, often making social distancing impossible

• A higher prevalence of HIV and tuberculosis which weaken the body’s immune response

• A lack of economic resilience, including personal savings to fall back on in times of crisis

• An absence of welfare benefits to support communities through lockdown periods.

  “We need all-hands on deck - individuals, corporations, foundations, governments and other organisations around the world.”

  Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director

The need is great, the crisis is acute and there is still so much to be done. United Purpose is seeking funding to - help people, communities and healthcare settings cope with COVID-19. Sharing hygiene messages far and wide, and ensuring healthcare workers have the important equipment, like soap and face masks, that they need.

Below are examples of what we’re doing right now, but we want to reach far more people, there is still so much to be done.

• Improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in hospitals.

• Providing 30,000 litres of water per day to enable hand washing in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

• Distributing water storage tanks and hygiene kits (buckets, soap and cleaning materials), as well as food parcels, for families without these basics.

• Sharing WHO messaging on hand washing and social distancing through community networks and local radio stations. This especially helps people who are illiterate or do not have access to the internet.

• Supporting women’s co-operatives to produce hand sanitisers and face masks - ensuring they maintain an income and contribute to the national effort of making hygiene related items.

• Providing hand washing demonstrations to community groups such as Mothers’ Clubs.

• Supporting smallholder farmers (particularly women) to re-establish their livelihoods and incomes following the crisis.