Nayrouz News Agency : UNICEF has donated medical supplies comprising personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Ministry of Health in support of Jordan’s national response to COVID-19. 

According to a UNICEF statement made available to The Jordan Times, the handover of supplies took place in Zarqa in the presence of UNICEF Jordan Representative Tanya Chapuisat and Ministry of Health officials.

The protective equipment to keep healthcare workers safe includes 500,000 surgical masks, 10,000 face shields and 10,000 goggles. 

In total, UNICEF is donating $2.7 million worth of medical supplies to the Government of Jordan as part of the UN multiagency support for the National COVID-19 Preparedness & Response Plan 2020, according to the statement.

"UNICEF is extremely grateful to the healthcare professionals who have worked so hard to keep children and their families in Jordan safe and protected. We are proud to contribute these supplies to help ensure that they are protected while they do their job and to support the Ministry of Health in their response efforts,” Chapuisat was quoted in the statement as saying.

Since the outbreak, UNICEF has scaled up support to the Ministry of Health to provide critical health supplies including one million surgical caps and boot covers, as well as surgical gowns, face shields and hand sanitiser for healthcare facilities. 

The supplies have been locally procured, while further essential supplies to support the national health response have been procured through UNICEF’s global supply chain.

To minimise the risks of the pandemic to children, UNICEF is also supporting the Ministry of Health’s resumption of routine immunisation and newborn screenings to give every child "the best start in life”, the statement read. 

In addition, UNICEF is scaling up its work with the MOH to strengthen the primary healthcare system by supporting a network of community health volunteers to deliver medications to close to 14,000 people in Mafraq, Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Zarqa.

The provision of lifesaving health supplies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic is generously supported by the governments of Australia and Canad