Keeping communities safe with COVID-19 centres for refugees arriving in Chile

Region: Americas
Country: Chile
Year: 2022
Shelter: RHU
Project size: 101-500
Modality: Isolation units
Sector: Health
Partner: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Support: Capacity Building

In early 2022, the northern Chilean border saw an influx of migrant arrivals, largely originating from Venezuela. Still at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with closures and testing measures in place, the Presidential Delegation of Tarapacá and the Regional Ministerial Secretary of Health (SEREMI) implemented safety measures in order to keep both host and migrant communities safe.

In support of regional-level pandemic relief efforts, UNHCR donated 144 RHUs to Chile, implemented 25 kilometres from the city of Iquique. The objective of the implemented RHUs was to facilitate the mandatory quarantine for arriving migrants, under safe and sanitary conditions, also providing hygiene kits, masks and health services for those who were not yet integrated into the local health care system.