As COVID-19 threatens refugee settlements around the world, it is becoming more urgent to listen to the voices of women to better understand their needs and coping strategies during this period. In this podcast series, we ask refugee women living in Nyumanzi and Bidibidi settlements in Uganda to share with us what has changed in their lives since the coronavirus pandemic was first confirmed in Uganda and how they are coping with all the Coronavirus related measures within the settlements.

Episode 1; Women Lead COVID-19 Response in Refugee Settlements

To prevent an added humanitarian crisis in their settlements, these women are mobilizing their communities and raising awareness to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and advocate for their needs to be addressed and rights protected. In this episode, we spoke to Akandu Jesca, a  Refugee Welfare Council representative from Bidibidi settlement in Yumbe District, Northern Uganda.

Episode 2; Coping with a Pandemic as a Refugee.

Women taking action and leading in their communities during the COVID-19 period.

Episode 3; Surviving a Pandemic as a Refugee

Uganda currently hosts about 1.4million refugees and asylum seekers under her open-door policy and 82% of them are women and children. Refugees face immense and unique challenges that make some communities more vulnerable to infectious diseases – from living in close quarters to lack of clean water for handwashing.  This pandemic, therefore, presents a worrying situation for the refugees in Uganda as the country is under lockdown; social distancing is almost impossible, food distribution and access to necessities such as health care are curtailed by the movement restrictions resulting from the lockdown and evening curfews hence worsening the pre-existing challenges in settlements. We had an opportunity to chat with Martha Abuol, a leader in Nyumanzi Settlement in Adjumani District.

Episode 4; Refugee Women Leaders on their Fight Against COVID-19.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ugandan government implemented a number of containment measures: borders, schools, places of worship were closed, inter-settlement movements, public and private forms of transport were banned and a night-time curfew was imposed. 

This is the final Episode of the series.

Episode 5; Refugee Women and COVID-19

Women’s International Peace Centre formerly Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis–WICCE) is a feminist organization with a mission to ignite women’s leadership, through amplifying women’s voices and deepening their activism to (re)create peace.

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