The ongoing epidemic COVID-19 may pose a bigger threat to the countries and regions devastated by conflicts than anywhere else, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.

Experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have warned, it will be nearly impossible to fight COVID-19 in spots affected by conflicts without concerted efforts among states and humanitarian organizations. 

Plans to prevent and respond to the virus must urgently move forward before it gains a foothold in conflict zones, they said in a statement issued in Geneva.

In addition to representing a major threat to life in countries with strong health systems, this coronavirus is even more dangerous in sites of conflict where a substantial number of refugees living in large groups are suffering scarcities of clean water, soap and medicines, they said.

What is worse, it is hard to detect and follow the sickness in places where the local health, social and economic systems have been destroyed, which consequently increases the chances of transmissions.

Peter Maurer, the committee's president, said, "COVID-19 has overwhelmed advanced health care systems. Many of the places where we work lack even basic health care infrastructure, let alone intensive care capacity. Our fear is that unless urgent action is taken to curb the spread of the virus, it will devastate some of the world's most vulnerable communities."  

According to ICRC, people in prisons and displacement camps around the world are among the most vulnerable groups prone to transmissions. Health systems in conflict zones in places such as Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, northeast Nigeria, and Afghanistan, are simply not prepared to handle a flood of COVID-19 cases without massive extra support.  

Last week, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent launched an appeal for 800 million Swiss francs ($826.6 million), a call for states to boost resources for countries with limited capacity to respond to this urgent threat. 

Without assistance, the pandemic can spread easily among the displacement camps where physical distancing is not possible and the containment will be difficult, as it is harder to trace and isolate suspected cases when people flee their homes due to violence. 

Maurer said: "Our work helping victims of conflict is still needed even amid an increased response to the virus. This work is made extra difficult because of the scale of this current pandemic, and the necessary and vital measures countries are now taking to contain it, such as movement restrictions of people and goods. To avoid a catastrophe, governments and other armed actors in conflict theaters must facilitate the work of humanitarians as a priority."

Even as the ICRC continues its work in places of war, it is re-orienting its activities to try to prevent and assist with the COVID-19 pandemic, often in close collaboration with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC). 

The present focus is on a number of areas such as Afghanistan, Armenia, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Mexico, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.

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