UNICEF provides essential medical supplies to healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic and secures support to vulnerable children.

CAIRO, 21 May 2020 – UNICEF is working closely with the Government of Egypt and partners to keep children and their families safe and to support frontline healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic. 

UNICEF has procured and delivered essential medical supplies to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) to support the healthcare frontline workers. To date, more than 800,000 COVID-19 units of essential medical supplies were delivered including 500,000 pairs of gloves, 200,000 surgical masks, 2,000 N95 respirator masks, 96,000 surgical gowns and 3,000 coveralls, among other protective items.

“Combatting an unprecedented global pandemic like COVID-19 requires extended collective work. Hence, we are proud to be collaborating with our partners and donors, to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population who is working tirelessly to limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Egypt. “The frontline workers are everyday heroes; they are the ones who relentlessly work for our safety and the safety of our children. UNICEF is proud and honored to contribute to their safety. We also want to thank the Ministry of Health and Population for its extensive and timely efforts to curb this virus,” he added.

On a parallel front, the American Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Egypt recently launched an initiative entitled “Private Sector and Businessmen Alliance Against COVID-19” that contributed through UNICEF to the government’s stepped-up efforts by providing 25 ventilators, as well as, 96,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE).  

An additional support from different partners included availing logistic support for the delivery of supplies across Egypt, 201,600 bars of soap, 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and 55,340 liters of bleach for public hospitals, and childcare homes.

UNICEF is also working closely with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) to address preventive measure in schools. In Minya and Fayoum Governorates, 360 elementary schools enrolling more than 330,000 students were disinfected to allow their safe reopening for children as they submit their end-of-year research papers. At the same time, 567 secondary and technical schools in Minya and Fayoum were disinfected to receive more than 100,000 grade 12 students as they sit for their final exams. 

And to ensure the continuation of learning, UNICEF has secured a total of 52,296 supplementary educational books to reach children in community schools, also addressing the needs of migrant children.

UNICEF is also responding with partners to misinformation, promoting awareness and healthy hygiene practices along with psychological support on their platforms. This aims at raising the awareness of children and their families on how to protect themselves and how to seek assistance.

In kind support to vulnerable families

UNICEF has also procured some of its COVID-19 supplies thanks to the in-kind contributions from, Aramex, Clorox, EVA Cosmetics, Johnson and Johnson Egypt, Nahdet Misr, and Selah El-Telmeez.  

Additional funding will help UNICEF build upon results already achieved which include:

• Over 33.8 million people reached with COVID-19 prevention messaging on UNICEF Egypt Digital Media Platforms;
• Nearly 1.3 million people have been reached with disinfectants;
• Over 250,000 children and women received essential healthcare services in UNICEF supported facilities;
• Over 50,000 supplementary educational books were provided to children.

“On behalf of UNICEF, I would like to thank our private sector partners for their commitment and generous support to help us respond to this crisis and its knock-on effects. Thanks to their generous assistance UNICEF contributed to the enormous response lead by the Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to protect the most vulnerable children and to help children continue their learning” said Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Egypt.

To watch the video for the supplies:
https://www.facebook.com/UNICEFEgypt/videos/525833801422758/

To learn on the prevention measures and how to support children, visit: https://www.unicef.org/egypt/coronavirus-disease-covid-19