According to UNHCR’s Spring 2020 data, Tanzania has received only 9% of the total funding requested, continuing a pattern of its humanitarian response being chronically underfunded by foreign aid or external support and making GCF’s Emergency Appeal for Child Refugees in Tanzania a timely and vital cause.

The live webinar was moderated by Talimka, which was hosted on Concordia’s Live platform, with GCF Founder Armand Arton, Program Director of Save the Children International Bester Mulauzi, as well as Grammy Award-winning artist, producer, and philanthropist Wyclef Jean.

GCF’s collaborative initiative with Save the Children and Wyclef Jean aims to raise $1 million to fund the vital needs of over 30,000 children in the Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps.

“We call the current situation in Tanzania a forgotten crisis, because very few around the world know that Tanzania hosts more than 300,000 refugees,” shares Mulauzi. “And over half of these refugees are children.”

According to the Program Director, more than 40% of refugees and asylum seekers continue to live in inadequate emergency shelters and tents. They are not allowed to leave the camps and cannot take part in any income-generating activities. These stringent policies have made it very difficult for these refugees to meet their basic needs and create sustainable livelihood.

“Aside from a big health crisis, this has also led to negative coping mechanisms, which leads to early marriage, increased sexual violence, lack of protection of children and women, and the unfortunate neglect of children.”

Although Tanzania’s COVID-19 cases are not as high as in other parts of the world, putting the efforts towards this very vulnerable community in advance is essential, according to GCF Founder Armand Arton.

“We’ve spent 3 months in quarantine, and we complain. These kids have spent 17 years of their life in a confinement of a tent without any of the basic necessities,” said Arton. “We need to be more sensible. We need to be more human. We all have a role to play.”

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