COVID-19 was first seen in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It spread across the world in a short time period and was declared a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 20202. The COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading worldwide, and continues to have a direct impact on people’s health and a deepening effect on psychosocial well-being and economic matters.
One of the groups that has been affected most by the measures and restrictions taken whilst dealing with the pandemic is individuals displaced because of war, conflict and humanitarian crises. Refugees often face higher risks and more difficulties in comparison to the general population in situations such as global pandemics because of their needs in terms of psychosocial support and accessing healthcare. Other significant reasons for their vulnerabilities include difficulties in accessing information, largely because of the language barriers, the exacerbation of current difficulties in accessing sources of income/livelihoods in the pandemic, financial difficulties, the additional health risks of living and working together in a crowded environment, inadequate shelter, food and hygiene conditions, interruptions in access to basic rights and services and physical barriers to access to facilities, particularly healthcare facilities.
It is vital to develop actions and interventions that will respond to the vulnerabilities and needs of refugees as well as the global struggle against the pandemic and for human rights and international standards in the process of responding to COVID-19.
With its 25 years of experience and approximately two thousand employees, The Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM-SGDD) carried out the study “Sectoral Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Effects on Refugees in Turkey” in coordination with its Monitoring and Evaluation Unit and with the support of the Protection Unit and field teams, in line with its organizational goals and mission. In the context of those with Temporary Protection status (TP), International Protection (IP), applicants for international protection and irregular refugees, and taking into account the measures taken within the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic, SGDD-ASAM is working on satisfying the basic needs of refugees and supporting them to take the necessary precautions against the epidemic.
Furthermore, a study entitled “A systematic compilation of reports that show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Refugees” has been carried out by the ASAM Migration Academy, which was initiated by SGDD-ASAM in 2019, in order to undertake reports such as this one, that demonstrate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that were taken in the first 3 months of the pandemic on refugees.
