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2020 Relief Work Report

2020 has been a very tough and challenging year for our work. The COVID-19 pandemic and the series of aftershocks that follow have made it difficult to provide humanitarian assistance. While fighting the virus, however, many parts of the world also faced other calamities.

We wholeheartedly thank all donors for their generosity amid the pandemic. In the 2020 fiscal year (from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020), World Vision Hong Kong raised over HK$25.4 million (including about 6.6 million from HKSAR Government’s Disaster Relief Fund), which was pooled with funds from other World Vision offices to respond to emergencies, at times in partnership with other humanitarian organisations, to provide timely help and hope for those in need.

COVID-19 Global Response

COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc around the world since the beginning of 2020. The pandemic not only brings health risks, but also secondary impacts, such as hunger, economic recession and unemployment, which are expected to trap more people into extreme poverty and put more children at risk of violence. World Vision launched the largest global emergency response ever in its 70-year history. Apart from being actively involved in limiting the spread of the disease, World Vision also scales up interventions to respond to the secondary impacts of the pandemic, protecting the health and livelihoods of the families and communities we serve.

Key Activities

  • Promote preventive hygiene behaviours, distribute hygiene kits and cleaning kits, and rehabilitate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities
  • Provide personal protective equipment and medical supplies for medical facilities and personnel, as well as training for community health workers
  • Offer psycho-social support, health education and child protection programming for children, and provide education materials for remote learning
  • Distribute cash and vouchers to support the livelihoods of affected families and safeguard children’s well-being

No. of Beneficiaries: about 51.08 million

Beirut Explosion Crisis Response

On 4th August 2020, a massive explosion occurred in the port area of Beirut, Lebanon, killing over 100 people and injuring more than 6,500. The blast affected more than 300,000 residents within a 10-km radius and destroyed the country’s most important entry port. By proportion of population, Lebanon is the largest host of refugees globally, but it is also experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Lebanese Pound deteriorates in its value and unemployment rates soar, poverty is aggravating. Apart from helping refugee families in the country, World Vision also continues to provide assistance for people affected by the explosion.

Key Activities

  • Distribute food packages, hygiene kits and personal protective equipment to provide immediate assistance for homeless and needy families
  • Provide psychosocial support for affected children to help them recover from the traumatic experience of the explosion
  • Rehabilitate homes and provide livelihood assistance for families in need

No. of Beneficiaries: about 14,800

Conflict in Rakhine, Myanmar

In late August 2017, conflict broke out in Rakhine State, Myanmar, leading to a humanitarian crisis. Now, three years later, some 860,000 Rohingya are still living in limbo in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Due to the COVID-19-related economic havoc and other factors, refugees are facing even greater hardships, with their already dire living conditions and access to services likely to further deteriorate. In the past three years, World Vision has been working with Rohingya community leaders to strengthen child protection, while also supporting families stressed by the impacts of COVID-19.

Key Activities

  • Provide food packages, food vouchers, prevention information, hand-washing supplies and hygiene kits to help refugee families cope with the threats brought by the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Distribute farm and non-farm assets, and provide skills training for adolescents to improve refugees’ livelihoods
  • Provide psychosocial support and gender-based violence prevention training for refugees in response to the violence to which children were exposed during the pandemic

No. of Beneficiaries: about 498,900

Africa Hunger Relief

Angola experienced the most serious drought in over 30 years, which has left more than 2.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including about 85,000 malnourished children.

South Sudan is facing the two-fold blow of climate change and war. Apart from the fact that over 3 million South Sudanese are either living as refugees in neighbouring countries or domestically displaced, and are reliant on humanitarian assistance, the country also needs to cope with multiple threats, such as floods, locust swarms and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent years, climate change has been causing droughts and irregular rainfall in Somalia. The different forms of extreme weather have forced about 5 million Somalis to turn to humanitarian assistance, including about 1 million acutely malnourished children.

Key Activities

  • Angola: Monitor the nutritional status and provide treatment for children suffering severe or moderate acute malnutrition
  • South Sudan: Distribute emergency livelihoods items such as seeds, fishing tools and livestock
  • Somalia: Provide training for residents to minimise the impact of locust swarms

No. of Beneficiaries: about 1.47 million

Hunger on the rise as the pandemic continues

The World Food Programme estimates that, by the end of last year, the number of acutely food insecure people could have reached 270 million. With the ongoing pandemic, vulnerable communities are facing even greater economic hardships, putting more people at risk of hunger. Please continue to support our Africa Hunger Relief to save lives together with us.

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