World Vision responds to Kensington Palace’s Acknowledgement of Syria COVID-19 Response
Saturday, March 20th, 2021 – In response to today’s Kensington Palace statement, highlighting the outstanding work of the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) in partnership with World Vision, and following HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge’s conversation with World Vision partner SEMA. Andrew Morley, World Vision International President and CEO, said:
“I am grateful to Prince William for taking the time to speak with one of our courageous colleagues, Kawther, an anaesthetist in Idlib who works for SEMA, a partner organisation we are funding on the ground. Kawther is one of the hidden hero staff who work in appalling conditions, making incredible sacrifices each day to keep hope alive for children.
“As the Prince heard, this conflict has been raging for ten years and a generation of girls and boys want nothing more than peace – which is our collective hope and prayer for each and every one of them.
“Yet, because of failures from the international community, the violence continues, robbing more and more children of their God-given potential.
“Raising awareness of this protracted crisis is an ever-growing challenge – so I am heartened that Prince William took the time to hear directly from our team on the ground.”
ENDS.
Note to editor
This week, HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, spoke to aid workers who are actively responding the COVID-19 crisis in northwest Syria, including frontline medical worker, Kawther from World Vision’s partner organisation in Syria, SEMA
Kawther explained how World Vision have supported the local hospital by providing equipment, PPE and training medical staff like herself in Covid-19 case management. So far, over 45,000 people have received life-saving PPE including face masks from the aid agency.
The COVID-19 response project, funded by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), started operating in July 2020, when the pandemic took its toll on Northwest Syria where many displacement camps are located.
The project is running to give access to vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and host communities to COVID-19 preventive supplies and information, and for health systems and facilities to have increased capacity for infection prevention and control and treatment of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. The isolation hospital, run by SEMA, is equipped with 32 beds, including two intensive care beds for high-risk cases, in addition, it contains an X-Ray unit, a lab and a pharmacy.
World Vision is a global humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.wvi.org/syria-response or follow us on Twitter @WorldVisionSR
For media enquiries, please contact:
Alexandra Matei, Syria Response Advocacy and Communications Director, World Vision International
alexandra_matei@wvi.org | +21692894939
Elias Abu Ata, Syria Response Communications Manager, World Vision International
elias_abuata@wvi.org | +962 775 446 556