United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has donated 46 laptops and 5,000 PCR test kits to Maldives to enhance the response capacity of the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) which is leading the ongoing national efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNICEF said the laptops supplied by the organisation would be used for the critical work of 17 crucial working groups including; the Rapid Response Team (RRT), Call Centre, Contact Tracing, Media and Communication, Medical Supplies and Planning and Coordination. UNICEF said the supply of 5,000 PCR test kits will help increase the HEOC’s ability to widely test for COVID-19, a crucial step towards isolating, quarantining and managing confirmed cases. The supplies handed over are worth USD 112,700.
To date, UNICEF’s support to the health sector for COVID-19 response exceeds USD 1.1 million. UNICEF has also announced it will provide the health ministry with funding for acquiring additional human resources in addition to two shipments of medical equipment for Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the coming weeks.