UNICEF provides supply and technical assistance to support COVID-19 response in Angola

Luanda 16th April 2020 – UNICEF provides hygiene, sanitation and personal protection kits, consisting of soap, bleach bottles, water tabs, water tanks, hand disinfectants, gloves and masks. These materials are part of a package that will serve, in a first phase, to assist to COVID-19 the response in provinces of Cunene, Huíla, Namibe and Luanda.

The kit already delivered, includes 300 boxes of water tabs, 3.000 water containers, 1.200 water pacs, 3.000 soaps, 3.000 bleach bottles and 50 kits of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

More materials are expected to be delivered in the coming days to support COVID-19 response in Luanda and support 14 health units.

The support is part of UNICEF's response plan to COVID-19 pandemic, which is aligned with the National Contingency Plan and is in coordination with other UN Agencies.

Urgent action to protect child rights

“In addition to provision of supply, UNICEF is extremely concerned with social and economic impact of the pandemic, therefore is working directly with several departments to study mechanisms to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on children's lives and their families”, says UNICEF Representative in Angola, Jean François Basse.

UNICEF has been working, for example, with national partners such as the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion, through the National Institute of Children, in the elaboration of procedures to assist children who are in Reception Centers and at the Provisional Emergency Centers. The procedures developed will initially be used in the more than 120 existing centers in the province of Luanda.

The strengthening of the social protection system is a recommendation that UNICEF presents to Governments around the world, in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on families with low economic capacity and thus guarantee their access to basic social services and food security.

With  European Union funding, UNICEF supports the Ministry of Social Action for Family and Women Promotion in adapting Cash Transfer Programs to attend more than 8,000 families and 17,500 children and keep 14 Integrated Social Action Centers in operational with to support and guide the population during the pandemic.

To ensure that health services continue to provide essential primary health care for women and children, in the context of the COVID-19 response, UNICEF has been supporting the Ministry of Health in strengthening the capacity of services and workers in the sector, particularly in the Infection Prevention and Control as well as the provision of Personal Protective Equipment.

At a time when schools are closed, children studying pre-school to 6^th grade have benefited from classes broadcasted on radio TV, an initiative by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Communication and the local media. UNICEF is pleased to recognize this initiative, which could ensure that more than 5 million children can have their right to education safeguarded.

"In times of emergency, it is important to ensure continuity of access to health service, adequate nutrition, quality education and that the most vulnerable access social protection mechanisms to mitigate the impact of the economic and social impact", appeals the UNICEF Angola Representative, Jean François Basse.

UNICEF has been collaborating with the Angolan Government through technical assistance in the preparation and review of national, provincial and sectoral to COVID-19 response plan; in the elaboration of standard operating procedures to assist children and adolescents and prevent family separation; conducting knowledge, attitudes and practices studies and also preparing informational materials to combat misinformation and ensure that children and their families know how to protect themselves against the disease.