Emergency
According to the UNHCR 2020 report, in the first half of 2020 more than 80 million civilians were forced to flee due to conflict and persecution; of these 2.4 million are refugees. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused further difficulties for those who have been forced to flee, with 168 countries that since April have partially or totally closed their borders to contain the infections. Movement restrictions have also impacted refugee children and adolescents: UNHCR estimates that over 1.8 million young refugees did not attend school from March to September (UNHCR Key Activities for Covid Preparedness and Response , 2020).
Emergencies can arise from armed conflicts, terrorism, climate change (SDG 13 on combating climate change and its impact) and many other factors: refugees should always be guaranteed basic services, such as access to clean water, food, medical care and education, transversally touching all the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
AMCS has made its contribution in supporting the ha of South Sudanese "Multisectoral support initiative for displaced persons and refugees in the district of Adjumani", in collaboration with the Sant'Egidio Community and financed by AICS. The project, concluded in 2020, aims to combat poverty and the marginalization of refugees, carrying out social, educational, training and WASH and health activities. This has allowed the displaced families to start integrating into local communities and to be able to rebuild their lives in a dignified manner, through training courses and the launch of income-generating activities.
As in the rest of the world, the Covid-19 pandemic also left an important mark in Uganda, both from a social and economic point of view: in 2020, AMCS carried out radio awareness activities (Una Voce contro il Covid-19 , funded by CEI), the packaging of washable masks and the production of liquid soap, as well as the rehabilitation of wells in the districts of Napak and Moroto to ensure the constant use of drinking water for the population.