To date, almost 700,000 people in Brazil have died as a result of coronavirus infection – hardly any other country in the world has more victims. The population in the north-east of the country, where almost half of the population lives in poverty, has been hit hardest by the consequences of the pandemic. The spread of the virus has also brought Brazil to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe: 117 million Brazilians are now suffering from food shortages and 19 million from acute hunger. Young people have also been left behind when it comes to their education: more than 5.1 million students between the ages of six and 17 have been excluded from education because they did not have stable internet access and were unable to follow online lessons. These sad facts prompted the Alliance terre des hommes schweiz / Terre des Hommes Suisse to launch the “Emergency response to Covid-19 Crisis in Brazil” project. Together with local partner organizations, food and hygiene products were distributed. We also ensured that many young people were able to take part in online lessons by providing families with financial support so that they could afford a stable internet connection. In this way, we responded to the urgent needs of young people who are suffering the most from the pandemic and its consequences. The emergency aid reached around 30,000 people from the states of Bahía, Pernambuco and Paraíba in north-eastern Brazil, who were severely affected by the pandemic. It was particularly pleasing that the food distributed to those in need was produced by young smallholder farmers from our partner organizations in Brazil – who therefore also benefited. The project was largely funded by Swiss Solidarity.
