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Jersey has given £1.5m in foreign aid to help vulnerable nations fight the pandemic.
The money - which has come out of Jersey Overseas Aid’s existing budget - has funded 10 projects set up this year to help groups who have been particularly put at risk by the health crisis, including refugees, migrants, the elderly, women and people with a disability.
The British Red Cross, HelpAge International and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are among the global agencies that have received grants, with countries receiving aid including Yemen, Bangladesh, Nepal and Ethiopia.
The money has paid for a range of aid including medical supplies, PPE, shelter and food.
Pictured: The money has been spent on a range of supplies, including PPE.
Minister for International Development Carolyn Labey said: "As Jersey continues to implement its highly effective local response to the pandemic, it is also very much at the forefront of a global one.
"Throughout the year JOA staff have been closely monitoring the devastating effects that covid-19 is having in countries already struggling with high poverty levels, poor health care systems and minimal social and economic safety nets.
“The agency’s agility and expertise has enabled the Island to provide lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
“A wide variety of needs are being addressed with interventions primarily focused on existing issues compounded by covid, such as sexual- and gender-based violence, food security, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection and failing medical supply chains.
“I’m enormously proud that Jersey is playing its part in this unprecedented global emergency. Not all small countries have. We were able to do so not only because Jersey is a country which has long taken its responsibilities as a good global citizen very seriously, but because in recent years we have invested in the quality and professionalism of our aid programme.”
Pictured: International Development Minister Carolyn Labey.
David Peppiatt of the British Red Cross said: “The world is facing an unprecedented global health emergency and, in these difficult times, it’s more important than ever to be kind to ourselves and to each other, and to protect the most vulnerable members of the society.
“We are therefore extremely grateful for the ongoing support from Jersey Overseas Aid. There’s a bond between Jersey and the British Red Cross which began during the Second World War and 75 years on as we face this global health emergency, the link between the Red Cross and the Island remains strong.
“With the help of JOA, the British Red Cross can continue to put kindness into action to support those who need it most around the world.”
Deputy Labey added that the JOA was still exploring the idea of setting up a locally based development fund or bank to offer finance to aid projects.
The Government-funded agency is currently in discussion with the African Venture Philanthropy Association, a Nairobi-based organisation for social investors, about the viability of setting up a development finance institution.
This would provide Jersey capital to projects on a non-commercial basis through such mechanisms as loans, equity, guarantees and debt securities.
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