The WHO Country Office in Zambia donated personal protective equipment, emergency equipment for the Emergency Operations Centre and laboratory supplies, laboratory equipment and reagents and provision of PPE for health workers worth more than US$ 700 000 to the Ministry of Health.
This donation was made possible through the UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded Emergency Preparedness, Surveillance and Outbreak Response project and financial support from WHO Headquarters and the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The DFID Country Director Mr. Steve Beel stated that DFID was committed to continue providing support to the government in its response efforts.
The donation is within the framework of the UN joint effort to support the government in scaling up preparedness and response. Zambia’s UN Resident Coordinator, Dr. Coumba Mar Gadio, recognized the WHO donation’s paramount importance. The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kennedy Malama, shared how timely the donation was. He believes the items donated are a high impact investment for the COVID -19 response and that support for the Emergency Operations Centre would be useful for the current emergency and other public health threats.
Read the full WHO/AFRO story about this donation of COVID-19 supplies