Updates from the field #6: Building partnerships and raising funds worldwide

UN teams across the globe are working together to fight COVID-19, including partnering with the government, private sector and other partners to raise recovery funds. Read about some of the response efforts worldwide as of 17 April 2020.

Barbados and Eastern Caribbean States 

The UN team in 10 countries – including Barbados and other countries in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States – have put together a Preparedness and Response Plan for Eastern Caribbean nations. 

All of these countries have confirmed cases of the virus, and the new plan addresses immediate health needs and the broader social and economic impacts of the pandemic, many of these economies being small, vulnerable and heavily dependent on tourism. 
 
The UN system has set up an inter-agency task force – comprising the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and under the guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator. This is to boost our efficiency in purchasing quality products at better prices, including personal protective equipment, testing kits, and ventilators. 

Chile 

In Chile, where there have been some 7,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the UN team has been closely working with the Government since the beginning of the outbreak, addressing the immediate health issues and the socio-economic impacts. 
 
The Pan-American Health Organization has provided technical assistance and advice to the Ministry of Health and is part of the administration’s committee to plan and respond to the emergency. 
 
The UN Resident Coordinator in the country is working with the Government to protect vulnerable populations. 
 
The UN team will redirect its $1.5 million Joint SDG Fund —a UN-wide initiative for joint UN programming for the Sustainable Development Goals – to boost social protection and inclusion for the elderly, with UNDP, International Labour Organization (ILO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The UN team, PAHO, UNICEF and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) are also helping homeless people and people with disabilities. 

Comoros

In Comoros, although the country has no registered COVID-19 cases, the UN is working closely with the Government on its National Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, contributing nearly $2.5 million to a national contingency initiative and providing surge personnel. 
 
The President of Comoros is working directly with the UN Resident Coordinator and the heads of UN agencies, funds and programmes to strengthen collaboration and boost preparedness. 
 
The UN team has helped set up a monitoring and control system at the international airport, ordering personal protective equipment for hospitals and ambulance staff, and providing additional testing supplies and medical equipment to local hospitals and laboratories. The UN, guided by the World Health Organization (WHO), has also trained healthcare and laboratory workers on emergency response procedures. 
 
The UN is working with municipalities to boost sanitation measures, including in street markets. 

Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, where there are around 900 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the UN team is working closely with authorities to address the immediate health needs. 
 
WHO has repurposed and hired additional staff to support national efforts, and has also trained health care professionals on infection, prevention and control. 
 
The UN team has launched awareness raising campaigns to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The UN team has also allocated nearly $1.2 million to support the efforts and is working with the private sector to boost preparedness and response. 

Nepal

In Nepal, where 16 COVID-19 cases have been officially confirmed so far, the UN team has launched a Country Preparedness and Response Plan which requires $38.23 million in funding to meet the humanitarian team’s needs and initial essential social and economic recovery interventions. The Plan has been presented to national counterparts and international community representatives and will soon be updated to include the Government’s needs.

The UN team is already working on the short- and long-term crisis recovery to mitigate the impacts of the lockdown, also beyond immediate health needs, including the impact on livelihoods and the return of migrants. WHO leads the immediate health response and has been working with the Government to ensure access to needed equipment and surveillance system, as well as laboratory capacity.

The UN team worked with the Government to set up two call centres to address questions about COVID-19 prevention, attention and care, and developed a communications and community engagement strategy with local influencers to help address rumours, disinformation, stigma of COVID-19 patients and families, as well as domestic violence prevention. Regular feedback from affected populations has been collected, through innovative tools to reach distant communities via mobile phones, and call-in radio programmes.

Young volunteers from seven provinces have been mobilized to roll out a social media campaigns produced by the UN team. International Financial Institutions have presented their support plans to Nepal, which include $29 million concessional loans from the World Bank, $20 million from the Asian Development Bank and $113 million from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) credit facility.