We are in this together

2020 has been a year of great struggle and loss. Red Cross National Societies across the Americas have stood side by side with their communities, in solidarity, to support them and to bring hope for a safer future.

Credit: Ecuadorian Red Cross. Tens of thousands of Red Cross volunteers have been supporting communities across Latin America and the Caribbean to deal with the impacts of COVID-19.

At the start of 2020, no one could have imagined how all our lives would change.

COVID-19 hit Latin America and the Caribbean later than in the rest of the world. The first reported case was in Brazil in February, months after the first case was detected in Wuhan, China.

Yet, the work of the Red Cross in the region had already begun. As the virus spread throughout Asia and Europe, plans were being put in place for National Societies to help the government’s in their countries to respond.

More than half a million Red Cross volunteers across the whole American continent have been on the frontline of the COVID-19 response.

Right across the region, from the Southern tip of Argentina, to the US border of Mexico and across the Caribbean islands, tens of thousands of Red Cross volunteers have been on the frontline of this response.

Credit: Bolivian Red Cross. The Bolivian Red Cross has been providing prevention messages in different parts of the country since the start of the pandemic.

They are supporting testing and tracking in communities. Producing information to help inform people about the virus and how to stay safe. Going above and beyond to deliver food to those in need and to provide communities with clean water. Red Cross ambulances have made tens of thousands of journeys to transport suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. More than two hundred thousand people are receiving direct cash or voucher assistance and thousands of people are receiving psychosocial support to help them through these difficult times.

That says nothing, of course, of the ongoing work these Red Cross National Societies have already been doing for decades. Getting communities ready for disasters and responding when they strike; providing support to the vulnerable or older persons, leading blood donation drives and teaching first aid.

Credit: St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross. Red Cross volunteers have been supporting community clean ups to prevent the spread of dengue during COVID-19, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

As the year comes to an end, we wanted to reflect on how the virus has impacted the Americas, and how the Red Cross has stood side by side with those affected, to help provide a better tomorrow.

Making sure people have the right information

Credit: Guyana Red Cross. The Guyana Red Cross distributed hygiene products, face masks and information about staying safe and health during COVID-19.

One of the most important things in being able to stem the spread of this virus is ensuring people have the right information. Rumors and misinformation are always a threat during any emergency, as is the stigmatization of those who get ill, which is why community engagement and accountability is an essential component of any humanitarian response. There are many reasons why rumors spread, including people being afraid and not having access to the right information. In the case of coronavirus, this has been compounded by the abundance of information from various sources, including social media. Not all of which is true.

In the Americas almost 12 million people have been reached by the Red Cross with health and hygiene promotion activities.

Credit: Salvadoran Red Cross. The Salvadoran Red Cross has been supporting communities with hygiene promotion for COVID-19, including delivering sessions on handwashing best practice.

We have found innovative ways to ensure people have access to the correct information.

In Peru, we set up a WhatsApp line to give people an easy and virtual way to send their questions about COVID-19, its symptoms, prevention measures, and general guidance for treating the disease directly to medical and specially trained professionals. Since it was launched in May, we have sent almost 44,000 messages to more than 2,000 people to help answer questions, fears and clarify rumors' about COVID-19. The success of this line has led to the creation of a region wide What’s App line that people can text in any language to get their questions on COVID-19 answered.

Across the Caribbean, the Red Cross has been hard at work to tackle this feeling of mistrust and working with others to put an end to stigmatization.

International reggae and dancehall artist Bay-C, worked with the Red Cross to produce a song that tackled not only the issue of stigmatization, but also gave people the right information on how to stay safe and what trusted sources to access, as well as spreading some hope.

Bay-C joined forces with the Red Cross to raise awareness of coronavirus

Supporting health systems

National Societies have had a practical role too, in implementing other protection measures. As auxiliaries to government and with a mandate to carry out humanitarian activities, the Red Cross has been called on to support in wide range of community-based activities, from temperature checks, to teaching people how to wash their hands well, to supporting in the transportation of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Credit: Argentinian Red Cross. More than 100 Argentinian Red Cross volunteers supported work at the isolation center in Tecnópolis Health Park in Buenos Aires for eight months.

Tens of thousands of volunteers have received special training in dealing with suspected or positive COVID-19 patients, in using PPE and in providing care in isolation settings.

As well as supporting local health systems, the Red Cross has also been providing community-based health care and transporting patients, safely, in their ambulances. More than 150,000 people have been reached with essential community health services and more than 110,000 people confirmed or suspected with COVID-19 have been transported by Red Cross ambulances.

Credit (L): Ecuadorian Red Cross. In Ecuador, 17 triage points have been set up, as part of the efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit (R): Dominican Red Cross. In the Dominican Republic, Red Cross volunteers supported in the disinfection of health centers, to help keep people safe.

The Red Cross has also supported in disinfection campaigns in public spaces, supported temperature and other checks in airports and across cities and rural communities, as well as supporting with the training of thousands of health care professional in infection control practices.

Physically distant, emotionally close

As weeks and months have passed, people have been faced with the pressures that mount from an uncertain future. COVID-19 has had and continues to have a massive impact on mental health, causing widespread emotional stress and anxiety as people struggle to cope with the pandemic’s impacts on themselves, their families, and their communities.

This is why the Red Cross’ psychosocial response has been at the center of our work, including reminding people through social media campaigns that though you have to be physically distance, this doesn’t mean socially apart.

As hospitalizations increased due to COVID-19, Red Cross volunteers were called in to help give those admitted with COVID-19 emotional care. Perhaps the harshest reality we have faced during this pandemic, is being forced apart from our loved ones. The Red Cross has been there to be the friendly face, the caring ear, and the loving friend to thousands of people across the Americas.

Credit: Mexican Red Cross. Red Cross National Societies throughout the region are supporting health systems to care for COVID-19 patients, providing infection control services, as well as emotional support to people in isolation.

It has been difficult to come to terms with the ‘new normal’. Restrictions have meant being stuck at home, not being able to see family or to hug loved ones, just at the time we needed it most. In Jamaica, Red Cross volunteers created special t-shirts to share messages of solidarity and hope and to remind people that we may need to be physically distance, but not emotionally.

Credit: Jamaican Red Cross. The Red Cross throughout the region is reminding people that though we need to be physically distance, we can remain emotionally close.

Specially trained psychosocial support teams have been helping people with emotional stress and anxiety, as they struggle to cope with the pandemic’s impacts on themselves, their families and their communities.

Credit: Guatemalan Red Cross. A volunteer supports children who have been affected by Hurricane Eta and COVID-19.

This includes supporting children through these difficult times, helping them to understand what is happening but giving them a safe and fun space to just be children.

Many National Societies have set up helplines for people to call free of charge and speak to someone confidentially, to get support, or just to talk.

Getting food to those who need it most

Credit: Peruvian Red Cross. The Peruvian Red Cross have been distributing food supplies, mobile kitchens and utensils.

The economic impacts of coronavirus on communities throughout the region cannot be understated, it threatens to set the region back by decades. The UN has said that the Latin America and Caribbean region is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a century. Restriction measures, such as lockdowns, while keeping us safe, have shrunk businesses, caused the loss of jobs and depleted people’s income and savings. Unemployment is set to reach 44 million in the region and the number of people facing poverty, is expected to reach 231 million.[1]

Credit: American Red Cross. On the island of Grand Bahama, volunteers with the Bahamas Red Cross meals on wheels program deliver hot meals once a day to people impacted by COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.

As well as reaching almost three million people across the Americas with food and other in-kind assistance, more than 200,000 people cross the region have so far received cash or voucher assistance from the Red Cross. This not only helps to support local businesses that have been impacted by the restrictions, but cash as aid also gives people the dignity and control to make the decisions about what they and their families most need. Though food deliveries are extremely important in providing people with immediate access to essential supplies during these difficult times, cash can also help to support local economies and give people back a little bit of the freedom they have lost.

In Curação, the Red Cross has been supporting people who have been impacted by COVID-19 with food vouchers.

But action did not stop with delivering food and supporting people with cash. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Red Cross has been growing food as part of a program in the country to help people struggling to access the nutrition they need. Just another part of the innovate and responsible work of the incredible Red Cross teams throughout the region.

Credit: Trinidad and Tobago. A Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross team member prepares seedlings for a COVID-19 food security program in the country.

Going above and beyond to ensure no one is left behind

The Red Cross operates under the principles of humanity, impartiality, and universality, so that no one is left behind. Volunteers across the region have gone to great length to reach communities, even those in hard-to-reach areas. Whether on foot, plane, by car or truck, or even by boat, no terrain has stopped Red Cross volunteers from getting to people who need their support.

Credit: Guyana Red Cross. The Guyana Red Cross uses boats to get to people in hard-to-reach areas.

Outreach to indigenous communities has been a huge part of some of the National Societies’ work. These communities are at great risk of the impacts of COVID-19 due to socio-economic challenges and a lack of access to health care.

Credit (L): Argentinian Red Cross. The Red Cross in Argentina is supporting indigenous communities across the country. In the Wichi indigenous community it is providing families with safe and clean water. Credit (R): Brazilian Red Cross. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brazilian Red Cross is making a focused effort with indigenous communities in the Amazon.

The Red Cross supports the most vulnerable groups throughout the region, including indigenous communities, by providing access to safe water, health care and food, as well as psychosocial support, particularly in hard-to-reach and remote areas, where access to information about the virus is not as widespread.

Help on the migration trail

Credit: Andrés Lemus / Guatemalan Red Cross. Since January 14, the Guatemalan Red Cross has provided humanitarian assistance to migrants during the mass mobilization from Honduras and El Salvador to Mexico.

Thousands of people across the Americas have continued to leave their countries despite the pandemic. Many reasons cause people to make this difficult choice, economic instability, violence, natural and climate disasters. While on the move, people face a higher incidence of poverty, overcrowded housing conditions, and jobs where physical distancing is difficult. In short, they are at a much higher risk of COVID‑19 infection.

Coronavirus has also caused a ‘return’ phenomenon. Thousands, having lost their livelihoods and unable to remain in rented accommodation, have decided to return to their country of origin, many of them walking, which, with border regulations and the closure of some borders, has increased the use of the non-regular and more dangerous, “trochas” (trails).

Access to support along these trails has never been so crucial to those that find themselves stranded between borders. The Red Cross across the region has long been present along these trails, supporting migrants to access health care, advice services and to reconnect with family members they may have been separated from. The pandemic has brought an additional element of hygiene and health promotion, as well as ensuring people on the move have access to the right information about the virus, in order for them to stay as safe as possible.

Credit: Guatemalan Red Cross. The Guatemalan Red Cross has been providing humanitarian assistance to people who left Honduras and El Salvador, in the hope of reaching Mexico. Including pre-hospital care, transfers to health centres and psychosocial support.

The Colombian Red Cross psychosocial team has created a special helpline called Linea Amiga (Friendly Line), in partnership with the American Red Cross, and set up six mobile ‘listening centers’ close to the border with Venezuela to provide migrants with information on how to stay safe and healthy, as well as specialist support from psychologists and psychiatrists.

Credit: Colombian Red Cross. People on the move are supported throughout the region, including psychosocial support and advice.

The world did not stop for COVID

Credit: IFRC/Johannes Chinchilla. The hurricanes have caused widespread flooding across the Central American region (video Honduras).

On 3 November, near the end of the region’s hurricane season, the greatest fears came true as Hurricane Eta came crashing through Central America. Just 12 days later, the region was dealt a further blow as Hurricane Iota made landfall in Nicaragua.

Credit (L): Nicaraguan Red Cross. Across the region, Red Cross volunteers were involved in search and rescue operations after Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit the region, at the beginning of November. Credit (R): Guatemalan Red Cross. The Red Cross continue to assess the damage across the region, the effects of the Hurricanes and COVID-19 will continue to be felt for a long time to come.

Eta and Iota’s heavy rains, floods, and landslides have affected more than seven million people in all Central American countries, from Panama to Belize, and Colombia.

Since the first moment, National Red Cross Societies of the region have coordinated with the authorities to provide preparation, evacuation, rescue services, support to people in shelters, pre-hospital care, dissemination of prevention measures, psychosocial support and assessment of damage and needs.

Credit: Honduran Red Cross. A Red Cross volunteer gives pre-hospital to care to an injured person.

The Red Cross is working with at local, national, and international level to deliver a massive operation in response to Eta and Iota’s impact in seven countries: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, supporting more than 100,000 people.

Ending the year under a cloud of uncertainty

When all we want is to be with our loved ones, to hug them and come together to reflect on the months gone by, the end of year season may be more difficult than many of the others that have come before. Though we need to be careful, we can still remain connected, even if only by telephone or via a video call.

Some good news is on the horizon, National Societies, as auxiliaries to government in humanitarian response, will have a role to play as countries prepare their vaccinations campaigns. But it is not time to let our guard down just yet. Across the regions, National Societies continue with information campaigns, providing COVID safe support, food, cash and vouchers, to support thousands of people.

Red Cross volunteers continue to support people across the Americas, no matter who or where they are.

Their work to provide people with the support they need will not stop.

No matter what, we are all in this together.

Credit: Honduran Red Cross. Red Cross volunteers across the Americas will continue to be there to ensure that no one is left behind.

By Teresa Goncalves, Communications Coordinator for IFRC in the Americas

[1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068051