Voices of the 18th OxHRF: ‘Gaza seen through the eyes of its children’

EL Laskar writes:

In our last blog, to commemorate Victory in Europe day, we shared snippets from the memoir of Mrs Prince who had been a child of war in Britain during the Second World War. We were thankful to have her story included in our exhibition this year. There were striking similarities in her story with some of the experiences of children in war zones today - abandonment, scarcity of resources, loss of loved ones, fear of being bombed and having a war zone as a playground.

As we mentioned in our last blog Rights of Children can often be overlooked and with approximately 415 million children growing up in war zones, global society needs to continue to invest in the protection and welfare of these children.

COVID-19: What are the implications for humanitarian shelter?

Sue Webb and Emma Weinstein-Sheffield write:

Key messages: 

1. The current COVID-19 pandemic amplifies existing humanitarian and development challenges, including those relating to housing.
2. Shelter practitioners need to be aware of the immediate and long-term impacts of COVID-19, including the economic impact on renters and marginalised groups and should address these risks as best they can during the peak of the crisis.
3. Immediate risk mitigation should include addressing overcrowding, poor ventilation and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities and will require close coordination with the WASH and health sectors.
4. The pandemic highlights how poor-quality housing and settlement planning increase the risk of communicable diseases and exacerbate some non-communicable diseases. There is a need for further research on the potential beneficial health impacts of humanitarian shelter responses.