Media Update-2: United Nations Pakistan, 2 October 2020

UNOPS

PRESS RELEASE

1,000,000 people to benefit from the supply of critical medical equipment by Japan through UNOPS to support the COVID-19 response in Pakistan

Urgently needed testing equipment, medical supplies and personal protective equipment worth $4 million funded by the Government of Japan will be provided for patients and medical staff across the country.

●     Funded by the Government of Japan, UNOPS is working with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Health Department-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide critical medical supplies and equipment to support the Government of Pakistan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

●     Vital medical supplies, including PCR testing equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE), are being provided through UNOPS’ efficient emergency procurement procedures.

●     Gender-responsiveness in the procurement process will ensure that the PPEs supplied can be used safely and effectively and comfortably by all medical staff.

●     The project commenced in June 2020 and all project partners are working closely to continue to identify and provide the most essentially-needed medical supplies.

In partnership with the Government of Japan, NDMA and Health Department-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, UNOPS will utilise the $4 million funding for procuring essential medical supplies to support the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and provide effective medical care to those affected. An estimated 900,000 patients and 100,000 medical staff are expected to benefit from these supplies.

Under this project, PCR testing kits will be provided for continued widespread testing for COVID-19, medical equipment will be supplied for the treatment and management of patients and personal protective equipment (PPE) will be given to doctors and medical staff to reduce their risk of infection.

To ensure that the PPE can be used with ease by both men and women, various factors are being used to determine the specifications of these supplies. This includes sizing requirements for men and women, color coding by gender, culturally-sensitive design for items such as medical suits and 50% of PPEs allocated for women.

UNOPS is working closely with all project partners to identify areas of need in the country and obtain the necessary medical supplies. The quick and safe delivery of these items will be done through UNOPS’ emergency procurement procedures, which have been utilized to effectively support countries across the globe in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After procuring the equipment, UNOPS will continue to coordinate the timely distribution of supplies with partners, ensuring maximum transparency in the process.

Ms. Marysia Zapasnik, UNOPS Country Manager for Pakistan, said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for essential medical supplies in the country. With generous support from the Government of Japan, we are working with the NDMA and HD-KP to provide protective equipment for healthcare workers and critically-needed resources for widespread testing and effective medical treatment of patients. UNOPS is committed to supporting the Government of Pakistan in tackling this pandemic and working with our partners for the health and well-being of the Pakistani people.”

Mr. Muhammad Idrees Mahsud, Member DRR NDMA  said, “NDMA highly appreciates the support being provided by the Government of Japan and the UNOPS through provision of supplies and critical equipment particularly testing kits and paraphernalia. Such support during this critical time is likely to contribute to the effective response and strategy implementation for COVID 19 in Pakistan. The Government of Japan has been generously supporting disaster management activities in Pakistan.  The Government of Pakistan and NDMA looks forward to continued support and cooperation with Japanese Government and UN organizations particularly UNOPS.”

Mr. Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah, Secretary to Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said, "This project will play a key role in our response to COVID-19. Through the testing kits, medical equipment and PPEs, the project will enable us to serve the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and help provide patients and medical personnel with the necessary medical supplies to tackle this pandemic. We are proud to work with the Government of Japan and UNOPS Pakistan towards this shared goal."

Dr. Amena Hasan, Project Manager, UNOPS said, "Through UNOPS' efficient and transparent emergency procurement procedures, this project will address the critical need of medical supplies to combat COVID-19 across the country. We have been working with the Government of Japan, NDMA and HD-KP to identify the most essentially needed supplies and will work in close coordination with them to provide these items. We'd like to thank all our partners for their continued support in this project."

H.E Mr. SHINDO Yusuke, Charge d’ Affaires ad interim of Japan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan said, “I would like to salute the efforts by the government and people of Pakistan in their fight against COVID-19, which have so far produced commendable results. We do hope that this assistance through UNOPS will help Pakistan deal with the pandemic. I would also like to mention the Government of Japan will continue to support the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to fight against COVID-19 and I hope that people in Pakistan will be able to go back to normal life very soon.”

ENDS

Notes to the editors:

Press contact details:

Rabail Habib

Communications Focal Point, UNOPS Pakistan

rabailh@unops.org

About UNOPS

UNOPS mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. We help the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, and deliver sustainable infrastructure and procurement in an efficient way. Read more: www.unops.org