 Tweltar, 9, was able to continue studying after her school closed thanks to the Saya Foundation's home learning program supported by Community Partners International. (Saya Foundation/CPI) When the COVID-19 pandemic closed Myanmar’s schools in June 2020, Htar’s nine-year-old daughter Tweltar reacted as most children would. “At the start, she was happy that she didn't need to go to school and could play at home much more than before,” Htar explains. But, as school closures lengthened from weeks into months, Tweltar changed her mind. “Gradually, she realized that her school had been closed for a long time and she wanted to start learning again."
 A COVID-19 patient is treated at home in Myanmar with an oxygen concentrator provided by Community Partners International. (CPI/MCHS) Yan Win Soe, founder of the Myanmar Community Health Society (MCHS), knows well the personal tragedies that the third wave of COVID-19 unleashed on the people of Myanmar. “My elder sister got COVID-19 and died due to lack of oxygen at the critical time.”
 A health worker administers the cholera vaccine to a child in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI) For Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, cholera is an ever-present threat. The cramped and crowded conditions, limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, and seasonal flooding create an environment in which cholera can quickly take hold. Rohingya volunteers supported by Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill are assisting a cholera vaccination campaign that has successfully reached 96% of refugees in their catchment areas since October 10.
 Construction underway on the new CPI-Green Hill health post in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (CPI) In late August, Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill broke ground on a new health post in Camp 1W of Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Scheduled to open by the end of October, the health post will offer free primary health care services to Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host communities in the surrounding area.
 A woman at a health facility in Chin State, Myanmar, uses an oxygen concentrator provided by Community Partners International. (HLDO/CPI) In April, conflict in Chin State, western Myanmar, pushed villagers over the border into India where the Delta variant of COVID-19 was spreading rapidly. Soon after they returned, COVID-19 cases in Chin State began to spike. Due to Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis, the local public health system had little capacity to respond. Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner the Hualngo Land Development Organization (HLDO) mobilized to provide COVID-19 prevention and care to people in desperate need.
 President Dr. Arif Alvi (center) meets with representatives of Community Partners International, SHINE Humanity and the Patients' Aid Foundation in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 30, 2021. On August 30, 2021, Community Partners International (CPI) representative Ms. Anam A. Ali met with Dr. Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan, to present oxygen concentrators and brief the President on CPI’s charitable activities to support Pakistan’s COVID-19 response.
 Volunteers supported by CPI help a woman to reach a COVID-19 vaccination center in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh. (CPI) Living in crowded and cramped conditions, Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. On August 10, 2021, amid a worrying spike in infections, the Government of Bangladesh launched the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for refugees over 55 years of age in Kutupalong Refugee Camp. As the first line of health care, volunteers supported by Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill mobilized to encourage and support eligible community members in Camps 1W and 4 to take up the vaccine.
California Philanthropists Launch $1.1 Million COVID-19 Match Fund to Save Lives in Myanmar/Burma8/10/2021
 The B.K. Kee Foundation and other philanthropists have set up a $1.1 million match fund to help save lives in Myanmar (Burma) in the midst of a catastrophic surge in COVID-19 cases. The fund will double-match donations to Asia-focused California nonprofit Community Partners International's Myanmar COVID-19 SOS campaign while match funds last.
 Rohingya health volunteer Tofayel conducts COVID-19 contact tracing in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI) "I feel that I am doing an important job for my community. No matter how hard it is, somebody has to do it. In this case, it’s me." Tofayel, Rohingya health volunteer As Bangladesh experiences a spike in COVID-19 cases, there is rising concern for the 700,000+ Rohingya refugees from Myanmar sheltering in Kutupalong Camp, Cox’s Bazar District. Cramped living conditions and limited access to health services make them especially vulnerable. Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill are supporting Rohingya volunteers to trace contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases and help to contain the spread of the virus within the refugee community.
 A screenshot from Relief Connect showing distribution of oxygen concentrator banks in Nepal. (CPI) COVID-19 moves fast, and ever faster as new, more infectious variants emerge. This creates challenges for all public health systems but especially those in low-resource settings like Nepal. In these contexts, the ability to track resource needs and gaps in an accurate and timely way and deploy limited resources efficiently becomes even more crucial in the race to save lives.
Seeking to address these challenges in Nepal, Community Partners International (CPI), the blockchain tech company Ibriz and design agency Kazi Studios have created an open online platform called Relief Connect - reliefconnect.org. |
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