Politics

Humanitarian group supports more than 37,000 families in Kurdistan affected by COVID-19

The Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) announced on Wednesday that it has assisted nearly 40,000 low-income families throughout the Kurdistan Region that have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the region-wide curfew.

Mustafa Shilani 2020/04/29 17:18

kurdistan Kurdistan COVID-19 BCF Humanitarian Assistance Coronavirus

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) announced on Wednesday that it has so far assisted nearly 40,000 low-income families throughout the Kurdistan Region that have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the regionwide curfew.

"The Humanitarian aid has been delivered to more than 37,000 families, since the establishment of the hotline," said BCF leader Musa Ahmed head in a press conference, referring to a special number that the group set up for families in need to call.

"We have so far received more than 45,000 calls and the aid will continue." Ahmed added, pointing out that "humanitarian assistance reached every corner of the Kurdistan Region including districts, sub-districts, and in some areas the villages as well."

The organization announced in mid-March that it would provide food baskets to low-income families amid the curfews imposed across cities in the Kurdistan Region.

The campaign started as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decided to impose a regionwide curfew as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. The federal government in Baghdad and other provincial governments around Iraq have also imposed their own curfews.

"We do not differentiate between anyone, whether they are residents of the region, internally displaced persons, or a refugee in the region," Ahmed added.

He explained, "This assistance is provided with the support of international charity institutions... as well as donations from people in the Kurdistan Region."

The BCF is one of the most active humanitarian NGOs in Kurdistan that often provides a substantial amount of aid to internally displaced persons and refugees in the Kurdistan Region, other parts of Iraq, and northern Syria, as well as multiple programs to enrich the lives of displaced children.

The organization was founded in 2005 and, in its own words, “strives to honor the great legacy of Malla Mustafa Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish Liberation Movement and influencer of the contemporary Kurdish nation.”

Editing by John J. Catherine