Hunger is rising in Yemen and Covid related deaths have escalated. The future looks very bad, with Covid, or without Covid, writes Mohammed Basha, Food Security and Livelihood Leader, Oxfam Yemen.

The threat of winter looms in Syria where people are already dying from conflict and Covid, says aid worker Shahinaz Muamar, from a local partner of a DEC charity.

People are left with the psychological trauma of losing loved ones and are struggling to earn a living, writes Susmita Guha, Senior Manager West Bengal, Save the Children India.

"I wish we were celebrating that the pandemic is over now but, unfortunately, it's far from over. It has gone on for so long, people are tired and their resilience has been stretched and stretched and stretched," writes Hebdavi Muhindo, Tearfund Country Director in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

Aid workers in Syria, Yemen, DR Congo and India paint a grim picture of the pandemic grinding down vulnerable communities. But they also see the difference that humanitarian aid can make, writes Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in Yemen in the last month as displaced communities struggle to cope with the impact of the pandemic, ongoing conflict and a hunger crisis that is putting millions at risk. Only 1% of the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, access to healthcare is poor and families cannot afford to buy food. Donations to the DEC Coronavirus Appeal are providing the most vulnerable people with lifesaving aid.

Since July 2020, donations to the DEC’s Coronavirus Appeal have helped protect some of Syria’s most vulnerable communities from coronavirus by providing clean water, hygiene kits and supporting healthcare but poor facilities in camps and the growing hunger crisis are still putting lives at risk as the virus continues to circulate.

With £14 million raised after the DEC extended our Coronavirus Appeal to include India, DEC charities have scaled up their work, but warn that there is more to do.

Donations to our appeal are now funding work in Afghanistan, DR Congo, India, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.