Nearly 80% displaced people have lost job, income due to virus

OSLO: Some 77% of people displaced by conflicts have lost a job or revenue since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a survey by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) showed. A record 79.5 million people worldwide, or 1% of humanity, were displaced at the end of 2019 after fleeing wars or persecution, according to the United Nations. The NRC, a non-governmental organisation, polled 1,431 refugees and internally displaced people across 14 countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Kenya Libya, Mali, Uganda and Venezuela. Some 70% of those surveyed said they had to cut the number of meals for their households and 73% said they were less likely to send their children to school due to economic problems. “The price of food has doubled. We have to collect scraps to feed our children,” said Shayista Gul, 60, who lives in a two-room makeshift home together with 15 others outside Kabul in Afghanistan.