News highlights: Eritrea refuses COVID-19 medical supplies, Italy declares ports unsafe, EU’s €15.6 billion COVID-19 plan for developing countries

In this week’s news highlights: COVID-19 supplies refused by Eritrea; Eritrean refugees in Hitsats camp in danger should the camp close – closure delayed due to coronavirus; Somalia on critical juncture to halting COVID-19; HRW urges Ethiopia for justice in deadly violence in October protests; Italy declares own ports unsafe; EU provides more than €15.6 billion to curb COVID-19; Asylum-seekers and migrants killed and abused along Greek-Turkish border, says Amnesty; Malta quaratines refugee camp due to COVID-19 cases; Second Greek refugee camp in lockdown; UNHCR needs $255 million for Africa COVID-19 response; IGAD COVID-19 summit; Story from the slums of Kenya; Libyan war continues; Tunisia makes the first step towards helping migrants in the context of COVID-19; And migrants and refugees launch hunger strike Tunisia.

Tunisia makes the first step towards helping migrants in the context of COVID-19

The Tunisian government included migrants in a group of beneficiaries eligible  for financial and in-kind help, due to the spread of COVID-19 but a lot of work still remains to be done as the number of vulnerable people in the country is increasing, writes researcher Morgane Wirtz.

Illustrated story from Eastleigh, Kenya: populations at risk of COVID-19 struggle to protect themselves

The global situation concerning COVID-19 is dire but it could get decidedly worse if the coronavirus starts infecting more of the world’s most vulnerable populations and communities who have limited access to prevention and health care, the Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, states. Even without a pandemic, those living as refugees, migrants, internally displaced people (IDP) or people living in slums face immense barriers to accessing health, water and sanitation systems. A 19-year-old girl, Asilia*, who lives in a slum area in Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya, provides an insight into what life looks like in one of such situations.