Even before COVID-19, myriad challenges including hunger, extreme weather events, violent conflicts, and poor governance were already holding fragile places back. Now, those challenges make fragile contexts particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic. As a result, prioritising fragile and conflict-affected states has never been so urgent.
Mercy Corps’ latest report “COVID-19 in Fragile Contexts: Reaching Breaking Point” shows that some of the most severe and long-lasting impacts of COVID-19 will be on food security, employment, local markets, gender equality, and sustainable peace. It also provides recommendations on how we can use the opportunity of the response to COVID-19 to not only help communities cope with this crisis, but strengthen their resilience, and leave communities and systems better prepared to tackle the next, inevitable shock.