COVID-19, Climate Change and The Vulnerable

With COVID-19 spreading rapidly across the world, areas with high poverty rates, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, are extremely vulnerable because many living in these regions have already been negatively impacted by effects from climate change. As the effects of COVID-19 and climate change overlap in these vulnerable regions, we cannot underestimate the risks. Due to climate change, areas of high poverty struggle daily with the loss of sustainable water sources, lack of food security, and unstable living conditions. It is an accumulation of these issues that make high-poverty communities prone to the devastating wave of COVID-19. 

The potential dangers of COVID-19 and the impacts of climate change intersect for communities that are at high risk of food insecurity. For example, some countries such as Haiti struggle with more frequent extreme weather patterns caused by climate change. Droughts, hurricanes, and floods devastate smallholder farmers lands and destroy their sources of livelihood. Natural disasters increase the strain on global food supplies and heightens the risk of malnutrition. During the time of COVID-19, communities with weakened immune systems due to lack of nutrition are at high risk. While other nations have too much food, Haiti continues to struggle to feed its people. 

Additionally, climate change can impact global migration patterns. Following unprecedented seasons of drought, areas that border El Salvador and Honduras have seen immigration increase significantly as families seek a place to live with sustainable food supplies. When people are forced to migrate, they end up in refugee settlements or migrant camps, which often lack access to basic hygiene. Efforts as simple as washing hands becomes difficult and contributes to the risk of mass spread of the virus. 

Like a flood, COVID-19 has swept nations. Now, we understand the feeling of uncertainty when our infrastructure, such as healthcare systems, falls short of facing this novel virus. But this global tragedy has also opened us up to a new experience: compassion. It is compassion that motivates us to care for our global neighbors who may be at a higher risk than ourselves. 

We invite you to join us in taking information and translating it into compassionate action. Come alongside One Day’s Wages by contributing $10 to our emergency relief fund or sharing this post. Your contribution will be invested into projects and partnerships to address the needs of vulnerable communities. 100% of your contribution goes towards giving countless lives a fighting chance for when COVID-19 overlaps with the already devastating effects of climate change. By donating to our emergency relief fund, you become involved in building resilience within poverty-stricken communities and have the opportunity to share in our victories.

Make an impact to protect the vulnerable through a donation or start your own fundraising campaign.