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On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. One year on, we are still reeling from its effects. And while we are all affected, it is the poorest and most marginalized who suffer most.

Since late January 2020, we at Oxfam Hong Kong have been working tirelessly with our partner organisations, and poor and vulnerable groups to fight the pandemic in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. We have distributed face masks, hand sanitizer, rice and other relief items to low-income families, street cleaners, elderly people, and other vulnerable groups to address their needs and ease their financial burden. And around the world, Oxfam has been using its expertise wash, sanitation and hygiene to protect the poorest from the coronavirus and its impacts.

COVID-19 reach infographic

LATEST UPDATE

25 JAN 2021

Oxfam releases ‘The Inequality Virus’, revealing that the richest 1,000 people recouped their COVID-19 losses in 9 months, while recovery for the poorest could take over a decade

PREVIOUS UPDATE

08 DEC 2020

OHK releases findings from Hong Kong Poverty Report: Unemployment among the poor during COVID-19; despite skyrocketing unemployment numbers, little government assistance is helping the unemployed

25 SEP 2020

OHK opposes Hong Kong government’s minimum wage freeze increase as the poorest endure the effects of COVID-19

17 SEP 2020

Oxfam warns that 61% of the global population will not have a vaccine until at least 2022 in the runup to a G20 health and finance ministers’ meeting

10 SEP 2020

Oxfam publishes ‘Power, Profits and the Pandemic’, pointing out that 32 of the world’s largest companies would see their profits jump by US$109 billion in 2020 while it was expected that COVID-19 would push half a billion people into poverty

21 JUL 2020

OHK writes Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung urging the government to offer ‘frontline property management employees’ COVID-19 tests

09 JUL 2020

Oxfam releases ‘The Hunger Virus’, warning that 121 million more people around the world could be pushed to the brink of starvation as a result of the social and economic fallout from the pandemic

01 JUN 2020

OHK launches Give A Meal: Oxfam’s Food Support Project for Low-Income Families to ease low-income families’ financial burdens

27 MAY 2020

Floods and locust swarms devastate East Africa, compounding the effects COVID-19 already had on countries there

14 MAY 2020

First case of COVID-19 detected in Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh

14 MAY 2020

Oxfam and UNAIDS release open letter signed by 155 world leaders and experts calling on governments to unite behind a people’s vaccine against COVID-19

26 MAR 2020

In response to rising unemployment rate, OHK and partner organisations release findings from ‘Survey on low-income families’ employment situation amidst the epidemic’ and urge HKSAR government to offer unemployed with short-term unemployment allowance

18 FEB 2020

OHK and partner organisations release findings from ‘Survey on Outsourced Workers and Their Working Conditions Amidst COVID-19’ and urge HKSAR government to better protect street cleaners

23 JAN 2020

Oxfam Hong Kong launches COVID-19 response and distributes masks, hand sanitizer and wipes to those in need, e.g. elderly, street cleaners

21 JAN 2020

COVID-19 hits Hong Kong and the prices of necessities like food, masks, and disinfectant rise to historic highs

Oxfam's COVID-19 response in Hong Kong and across the Globe

Hong Kong

With the lack of protective equipment when COVID-19 first broke out, we visited refuse collection points across Hong Kong to distribute masks to street cleaners. Here, street cleaners hold up masks they received from Oxfam through the support of Li Ka Shing Foundation. (Photo: Roni Chan / Oxfam)

Hong Kong

An Oxfam staff member distributing masks to a senior, demonstrating how to put on a mask properly. (Photo: People Service Centre)

Hong Kong

Some ethnic minority cleaners neither speak Chinese nor English. That is why we worked with our partners to share hygiene information with them in their native language. (Photo: Roni Chan / Oxfam)

Hong Kong

OHK and our partner organisations’ press conference in February 2020. Together, we urged the HKSAR government to better protect frontline sanitation workers.

Macau

Together with our partners, we visited families in Macau with special needs and distributed rice and protective equipment to them. (Photo: Pui Cheng Lei / Oxfam)

Macau

With the soaring prices of necessities in Macau, Oxfam distributed rice and other relief items to those in need. (Photo: Pui Cheng Lei / Oxfam)

Mainland China

Street cleaners holding the face masks and leaflets they received from Oxfam. (Photo: Shan Xing Social Work Service Center of Changsha)

Mainland China

Villagers in Guizhou receiving disinfectant from Oxfam.

Bangladesh

We distributed soap in Rohingya refugee camps to ensure people could wash their hands regularly to keep COVID-19 at bay. (Photo: Fabeha Monir/Oxfam)

Bangladesh

Refugees in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh standing in circles marked by Oxfam to encourage social distancing. (Photo: Fabeha Monir/Oxfam)

Bangladesh

An Oxfam staff member cleaning the drains in the Rohingya refugee camp, Cox's Bazar, to prevent flooding during cyclone Amphan, which was a crisis on top of a crisis. (Photo: Fabeha Monir/Oxfam)

The Philippines

Oxfam distributed leaflets about COVID-19 prevention as well as relief packs in strategic areas, including barangay (village) halls (pictured) and grocery stores. (Photo: IDEALS)

The Philippines

Oxfam distributed leaflets about COVID-19 prevention as well as relief packs in strategic areas, including barangay (village) halls and grocery stores (pictured). (Photo: IDEALS)

Iraq

Oxfam and Global Affairs Canada worked together to provide essential support to health facilities and vulnerable families in Mosul, such as PPE and food. (Photo: Oxfam)

Iraq

Oxfam staff preparing for a food distribution that targets the most vulnerable families in Ninewa, Mosul district. Each bundle contains lentils, rice, sugar, vegetable oil and flour, as well as a flyer on gender-based violence and a helpline. (Photo: Oxfam)

Iraq

Oxfam distributed hygiene kits and leaflets to vulnerable families in Seniyah district in Salahaddin. (Photo: Oxfam)

Central African Republic

Oxfam set up water points in Bangui, CAR, and ensured that taps were at least one metre apart to avoid the spread of the virus. (Photo: Aurelie Godet / Oxfam)

Central African Republic

Oxfam staff member Modeste Mirindi connects a water bladder to the taps of a new water point, which will provide water to approximately 5,000 people. (Photo: Aurelie Godet / Oxfam)