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Faced with the scale of the Covid-19 epidemic, the NGO SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has decided to open a field operation in the Île-de-France, near vulnerable populations, particularly those weakened by this health crisis, in order to provide them with assistance in accessing water and personal hygiene.
While the Covid-19 epidemic has been affecting France for several weeks, public-awareness messages concerning good hygiene practice and, in particular, the importance of hand-washing have proliferated. But the simple act of washing your hands is not always possible for everyone in France. The most vulnerable sections of the population do not always have guaranteed access to water and basic hygiene products. And the current lockdown conditions make it even more difficult for them to obtain such access.
Faced with this complicated situation, the NGO SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has therefore decided to open a field operation in the Île-de-France to assist vulnerable populations, particularly weakened by this health crisis, to provide them with assistance in the area of access to water and hygiene.
For several days now, our teams have been working in cooperation with the French NGO Doctors of the World (Médecins du Monde) with 150 families in several shanty towns in Seine-Saint-Denis, where access to water and sanitation is almost non-existent and where the crowded conditions raise severe concerns about the rapid spread of the virus. The key public-awareness messages about good hygiene practice have been publicised and soaps and hygiene kits have been distributed. Kits for babies will also be given to families who need them. In the next few days, our teams also plan to install access to water so that the inhabitants of these slums can live in dignified conditions and protect themselves effectively from Covid-19.
At the same time, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, in cooperation with Samusocial plans to take action in social hostel and, with the Aurore Association, at an emergency accommodation centre, to distribute hygiene kits.
‘’We are facing an unprecedented crisis affecting the places where we work abroad but also in Europe and France. Preventing and fighting epidemics is part of our humanitarian mandate. If we can bring our expertise in the area of access to water and hygiene to help the most vulnerable populations hit by this crisis, it is our responsibility to intervene.”
Baptiste Lecuyot, member of the SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’S emergency team
Working in seventeen countries around the world, some of which have inadequate healthcare systems, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL fights every day to enable the most vulnerable populations to have access to water and sanitation, in particular by carrying out awareness campaigns concerning hygiene and hand-washing, both of which are essential in the fight against the ravages of water-borne diseases and epidemics. In another difficult situation, in 2015, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL opened a field operation in France to assist migrants in Calais.
Faced with Covid-19, a display of world solidarity has arisen. No-one must be left out!
Press contact:
Chloé DEMOULIN – 07 85 42 56 99 – cdemoulin@solidarites.org
Website: solidarites.org/en/
Twitter: @Solidarites_Int
Instagram: solidaritesinternational