Yet this is the reality for as many as 70 million displaced persons worldwide.
Coronavirus doesn't respect borders — with most countries around the world now reporting cases. The pandemic is also a reminder of the world's inequalities, and how we are only as strong as our weakest health system.
With confirmed cases in crisis-affected countries like Afghanistan, Venezuela and Syria, the IRC is extremely concerned about the virus reaching a crowded refugee camp or taking hold in a conflict zone with little or no health system to speak of.
While many of us can call a doctor to get help, for the 70 million people displaced by conflict or disaster, this is far from the case. And the simple advice given to protect ourselves is far harder to follow when you're living in a tent, unable to return home or facing a closed border.
The bottom line is, people living in crisis and conflict have little or no ability to protect themselves from this disease — and their lives are put in even further danger.
That's why the IRC is ramping up its response to the outbreak with a focus on crisis zones with especially weak health systems and vulnerable communities.
Agencies like the IRC urgently need funding to fight the pandemic.
The IRC is currently responding across the globe — sending health information to tens of thousands of refugees in Italy, building safe screening rooms in health centers in Thailand, conducting health trainings in Northeast Syria, creating handwashing stations in Afghanistan, supporting resettled refugees with hygiene kits in the U.S. and much more.
