scholarly journals Challenges to the implementation and adoption of physical distancing measures against COVID-19 by internally displaced people in Mali: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ali Ag Ahmed ◽  
Birama Apho Ly ◽  
Niélé Hawa Diarra ◽  
Fatoumata Bintou Traore ◽  
Djeneba Diarra ◽  
...  

Abstract Background For almost a decade now, Mali has been facing a security crisis that led to the displacement of thousands of people within the country. Since March 2020, a health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic also surfaced. To overcome this health crisis, the government implemented some physical distancing measures but their adoption proved difficult, particularly among internally displaced people (IDPs). The objective of this study is to identify the challenges relating to the implementation and adoption of physical distancing measures and to determine the main mitigation measures taken by IDPs to adjust to these new policies. Methods An exploratory qualitative research was conducted in Bamako and Ségou, two of the ten regions of Mali. The study counted 68 participants including 50 IDPs, seven administrative and health authorities, and 11 humanitarian actors. Sampling was guided by the principle of saturation and diversification, and data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews (n = 36) and focus groups (n = eight). Analysis was based on thematic content analysis through NVivo software. Results The main challenges identified concerning the implementation and adoption of physical distancing measures include the proximity in which IDPs live, their beliefs and values, the lack of toilets and safe water on sites, IDPs habits and economic situation, humanitarian actors’ lack of financial resources and authority, and social pressure from religious leaders. Implemented mitigation measures include the building of new shelters or their compartmentalization, the creation of income-generating activities and food banks, psychosocial support, promoting awareness of IDPs, and nightly police patrols and surveillance to discourage IDPs from going out. Finally, a call for action is suggested for the actors involved in IDPs support and management. Conclusions The study demonstrates the difficulty for IDPs to follow most of the physical distancing measures and informs about the risk of disease spreading among IDPs with its potential consequences. It also shows the inability of mitigation measures to control the outbreak and suggests actions to be considered.

Author(s):  
Hiromi Nagata Fujishige ◽  
Yuji Uesugi ◽  
Tomoaki Honda

AbstractThe Japan Engineering Groups (JEG) deployment to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) from 2012 to 2017 exhibited consecutive aspects of “integration” and “robustness.” During the first two years, Japan’s method of “integration,” or the “All Japan” approach, fit well with UNMISS’s focus on statebuilding. It yielded various outcomes, not only in the restoration of facilities and infrastructure (e.g., road construction) but also in the nonengineering support provided to the locals (e.g., job training). With the outbreak of de facto civil war in December 2013, however, UNMISS’s top priority moved from statebuilding to Protection of Civilians (PoC), thereby intensifying inclinations toward “robustness.” Afterward, the JEG mostly focused on the construction of a PoC site, that is, a shelter for evacuated locals and internally displaced people. While security in South Sudan continued to deteriorate, the amendment to the Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) Act as part of the 2015 Peace and Security Legislation enabled the Government of Japan (GoJ) to assign the JEG to partial security missions, such as the “coming-to-aid” duty. In the end, however, the GoJ abruptly withdrew the JEG in May 2017, thereby discontinuing the series of SDF deployments to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations since 1992.


1991 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
John Prendergast

Over 300,000 Sudanese perished primarily from hunger during 1988-89 in one of the most avoidable human tragedies in recent history. Mostly from the war-torn southern part of the country, these civilians were deliberately starved by central government, and to a lesser extent the insurgent Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which used the deprivation of food as a tactic of war. The threat of further genocidal actions by the Islamic fundamentalist junta in Khartoum and the private militias allied with the government continue to daily threaten the lives of millions of internally displaced people. Due to these man-made causes and nature’s lack of rain, up to ten million Sudanese are at risk of malnutrition, hunger and starvation in 1991.


2018 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 319-320
Author(s):  
A.J. Rodriguez-Morales ◽  
H.A. Bedoya-Arias ◽  
N. Sánchez-Ramírez ◽  
J.E. Bedoya-Arias ◽  
N. Hurtado-Hurtado ◽  
...  

The Lancet ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 392 (10164) ◽  
pp. 2530-2532 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Miliband ◽  
Mesfin Teklu Tessema

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin van Zandvoort ◽  
Mohamed Omer Bobe ◽  
Abdirahman Ibrahim Hassan ◽  
Mohamed Ismail Abdi ◽  
Mohamed Saed Ahmed ◽  
...  

Background Populations affected by humanitarian crises experience high burdens of acute respiratory infections (ARI), potentially driven by risk factors for severe disease such as poor nutrition and underlying conditions, and risk factors that may increase transmission such as overcrowding and the possibility of high social mixing. However, little is known about social mixing patterns in these populations. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional social contact survey among internally displaced people (IDP) living in Digaale, a permanent IDP camp in Somaliland. We included questions on household demographics, shelter quality, crowding, travel frequency, health status, and recent diagnosis of pneumonia, and assessed anthropometric status in children. We calculated age-standardised social contact matrices to assess population mixing, and conducted regression analysis on risk factors for recent self-reported pneumonia. Results We found crowded households with high proportions of recent self-reported pneumonia (46% in children). 20% of children younger than five are stunted, and crude death rates are high in all age groups. ARI risk factors are common, but we did not find any significant associations with self-reported pneumonia. Participants reported around 10 direct contacts per day. Social contact patterns are assortative by age, and physical contact rates are very high (78%). Conclusions ARI risk factors are very common in this population, while the large degree of contacts that involve physical touch could further increase transmission. Such IDP settings potentially present a perfect storm of risk factors for ARIs and their transmission, and innovative approaches to address such risks are urgently needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 112-116
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ali Abdirahman

Ongoing armed conflict, insecurity, lack of state protection, and recurring humanitarian crises exposed Somali civilians to serious abuse. There are an estimated 2.6 million internally displaced people (IDPs), many living unassisted and vulnerable to abuse. Somalia's history of conflict reveals an intriguing paradox--namely, many of the factors that drive armed conflict have also played a role in managing, ending, or preventing war.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Agbo Friday Ojonugwa

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are usually forced to flee or leave their homes, particularly in situations of armed conflict. They are displaced within their national territories and are generally subject to heightened suffering and vulnerability in many cases. It is also essential to state that the issue of internal displacement has become prominent because of the realisation that peace and reconstruction in conflict-ridden societies depend on the effective settlement and reintegration of displaced persons. Nigeria is a country that has a history of conflicts and displaced people. There has been a challenge in finding lasting peace through the employment of conflict resolution techniques and also the challenge of catering for the welfare of internally displaced persons in the country. However, peace and development without taking into account the settlement, return, and reintegration of IDPs. These desirous objectives are proving quite difficult in Nigeria as many challenges confront the government, policymakers, and humanitarian NGOs in providing the IDPs with their rights and needs. Some of the challenges can easily be overcome while some are more tasking requiring concerted efforts and massive resources to overcome. The aim of this article is to highlights the significant challenges confronting IDPs and provides some solutions to these challenges. In adopting the doctrinal method in discussions, the article finds that enormous challenges abound that confront IDPs in Nigeria, and it finds that there is the need for the government to find urgent solutions to the challenges of IDPs for the wellbeing of IDPs  


2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (38) ◽  
Author(s):  
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Summary of new report published by WHO, assessing the current health status of the internally displaced people in Darfur, Sudan,


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