“UNAMID, in consultation with Government and in partnership with the UN Agency, Funds and Programmes (AFPs) implementing the Joint State Liaison Functions (SLFs) in Darfur, have agreed to allocate almost two million US dollars to support the Transitional Government of Sudan’s COVID-19 National Response Plans focusing on Darfur. Projects covered under this Financial Agreement will contribute to and support the Government’s preparedness and response to the current COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan, with a focus on hotspots in Darfur,” UNAMID’s Deputy Joint Special Representative, Ms Anita Kiki Gbeho stated at the virtual signing ceremony of the Financial Agreement held on 4 May at the Mission’s Headquarters in Zalingei, Central Darfur. Mr. Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Resident Representative for Sudan countersigned the Agreement on behalf of his organization from the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Funding, under this Agreement, will cater for projects aimed at containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing morbidity and mortality through the support to equip and or establishment of  isolation centers; enhancing capacities of local health and community systems in adopting Infection Control and Prevention (IPC) measures  through provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs); providing sanitizers and handwashing facilities; medical waste management and disposal equipment; supplies and consumables and also strengthen the capacities of Points of Entries (Poe) to detect and refer suspected cases through provision of thermal detectors and IPC equipment.

These planned projects were selected in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) based on the gaps and immediate needs of the National Country Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19. UNDP will cater for the procurement processes, whilst the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with other UN AFPs and UNAMID will support the planning and distribution of items and monitoring of the implementation in coordination with joint federal and states’ ministries of health.

“Funds from this Financial Agreement will clearly target, amongst the general population, internally displaced people, returnees, the prison population and host communities in Darfur that are among the most vulnerable Darfuris to COVID-19 and its social and economic consequences. These are core vulnerable target groups for UNAMID. They desperately need our support and as the UN family in Sudan, specifically Darfur, we will continue to partner with the TGoS in its spirited fight against COVID-19, “DJSR Gbeho added.

The above action is a continuation of efforts from UNAMID to fully support the TGoS in its quest to prevent, contain and ultimately win the fight against COVID-19. It is to be recalled that at the North and Central Darfur state level, the Mission has gifted the Ministries of Health with critical equipment such as generators, air conditioners, hard plastic water tanks, personal protective equipment (PPE) and various other related items to be used in the newly established isolation centers in the states. In addition, UNAMID has assisted the State High Level Coordinating Committee on COVID-19 with logistic support through helicopter flights to visit Tine and El Lait towns in North Darfur to assess the exposure to the risk to the COVID-19 in these areas, with a third trip planned to Al Zurug, North Darfur in the coming days.