"The communities know that UNICEF is here to support them”

I define my work at UNICEF as looking out for the needs of children and adolescents to support their and their mothers’ health. I have been part of the organization's team for almost two years, and I feel very motivated by its principles of transparency and team spirit which drive us to get the best results for children and their mothers. That motivates me to keep giving my best, despite the pandemic and any other difficulties. 

I’ve been a doctor for 28 years, and throughout that time, contact with patients and communities has been part of my daily life. But without a doubt, the pandemic has marked a before and after in the way we operate and provide support. When COVID-19 hit, the health sector and water, sanitation, and hygiene became the critical sectors in the response. For us at UNICEF, our workload increased because we had to integrate the logistics of delivering supplies and COVID-19 care into our regular maternal and child health care programmes. 

We haven't stopped. I’ve been on the ground since day one of the lockdown, while complying with all the necessary biosafety measures, of course. In August, the number of COVID-19 cases in Bolívar increased and I had to work from home for a few weeks. Remote working isn’t easy either because routines change, and you have to deal with unstable Internet connections and difficulties communicating with colleagues. However, with the organization’s guidance and support, I was able to adapt and find solutions.  

As a health officer, the biggest challenge is continuing to work while taking the required precautions and avoiding unnecessary exposure. For health teams in general, it’s been difficult because they’re on the front line attending to people, and they can forget to protect themselves. However, this is where UNICEF comes in: to strengthen risk perception and support these committed professionals who are attending to both the COVID-19 and "non-COVID-19" populations. 

I’m proud of how UNICEF makes a difference on the ground, with a concrete response that is in line with the humanitarian principles of impartiality, humanity, neutrality and independence.  

I joined the Bolívar office when it had just opened, and I’ve seen how after a year working in the region, we’ve gained the trust of the communities. They know that we deliver supplies to care for children in hospitals and that we’re there to support them, and they do whatever they can to facilitate our work. 

We'll never stop. We’ll continue to oversee the regular health programmes while supporting the rehabilitation of facilities and capacity-building in the health centres that serve children and their mothers.  

By September 2020, more than 103,000 mothers and their newborns had received  maternal/neonatal life-saving services in UNICEF-supported facilities nationwide, and more than 80,000 health workers had been provided with personal protective equipment.