Washington, DC, USA (us.gov.krd) - KRG Representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman spoke at a virtual event on Wednesday about the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Kurdistan Region and the humanitarian response.

Sinam Mohamad, US Representative for the Syrian Democratic Council, and David Phillips of Colombia University also spoke on the panel.

More than 50 participants attended the event, which was hosted by Refugees International, a non-profit that advocates for refugee rights, and the Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Hardin Lang, Refugees International’s vice president for programs and policy.

Representative Abdul Rahman outlined the KRG’s robust and swift response to the outbreak and the difficulty with providing aid for the more than one million displaced people in Kurdistan Region in such a crisis. She also spoke about the secondary effects that the outbreak has had on the local economy, governmental budgets, and the fight against ISIS. Ms Abdul Rahman noted that job losses due to the lockdown had resulted in some families in both the host and displaced communities needing food packages. She also warned about the impact of the weakening economy on funding for Peshmerga operations.

Representative Mohamad said that while there have been no COVID-19 infections in areas of Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, there has not been any testing, as the central government in Damascus has refused to send test kits. She also expressed concern that health services are unprepared for an outbreak, with only 40 ventilators available.