Five million helped by World Vision Canada’s COVID-19 response

COVID-19 continues to gnaw its way through the world’s most vulnerable communities. But in 2021, World Vision Canada, through our donor partners, assisted approximately five million people in 59 countries to weather the worst of it. The Global Health Organization considers the COVID-19 pandemic “the worst in a century.” We focused on curtailing virus transmission through hygiene promotion and increased handwashing services, particularly in schools and health facilities.

Even when borders were closed, we responded to calls for help. Our on-the-ground community partners jumped into action. World Vision Canada trained 3,568 government health workers and 1,289 community health workers in COVID-19 prevention. Through awareness sessions, these health workers then taught close to five million people how to protect themselves against the virus.

Our non-governmental organization (NGO) partnerships provided an additional $8.8-million in COVID-19 response funding, which bolstered our work. This injection of supplemental resources allowed us to support 2,473 families with cash distributions to meet their basic needs. Our cash and voucher programs safeguarded livelihoods and decreased harmful coping strategies – especially for girls, women, and people with disabilities.

We contributed to specific country COVID-19 response efforts by installing 12 handwashing stations and partnered with 90 faith leaders to increase their COVID-19 prevention knowledge. World Vision Canada made a concerted effort to intensify our COVID-19 work in countries we have categorized as most fragile. These include, but are not limited to, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Mali, Niger, Somalia, and South Sudan. In these areas there were over two and a half million cases.

We stepped up our Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programs in communities across these countries. WASH delivers safe drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene practices to communities. In total, we invested in 26 WASH projects that changed the lives of 247,660 girls and 225,631 boys.

On behalf of our donors, World Vision Canada also invested in technology so that healthcare workers could access pandemic resources. We provided them with protective equipment and the tools needed for vaccine rollouts in rural communities. In addition, they received training, especially information to dispel myths regarding the novel coronavirus resulting in an uptick in vaccine acceptance.

Even when disaster further impacted the pandemic’s effects, we were undeterred. Though a deadly explosion rocked the port of Beirut in August 2020, our work there continues via interconnected projects. At the height of the pandemic, we distributed 3,538 disinfection kits to local families. One project (concluded in September 2021) supported 30,536 girls and 32,439 boys in the greater Beirut area.

We also directed a significant part of World Vision Canada’s COVID-19 protection efforts toward mental health resources. Anxiety and major depression soared during the pandemic; girls and boys reported increased mental health problems, with girls disproportionately affected. Because of our Canadian donors and numerous community partnerships, children, parents and caregivers gained access to mental health services.

Surprisingly, some of World Vision Canada’s COVID-19 hygiene education sessions were bright spots for children living in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. They learned about safe hygiene through practice and games. Even where life is grim, our humanitarian efforts allow children to have a better life. At World Vision Canada, we believe that life on the margins is no place for any child.