Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
Iraq
A nurse prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine while another administers one at a vaccination centre in the Kindi Hospital in Iraq's capital Baghdad on April 14, 2021. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/ AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The United Kingdom has contributed over four million dollars to the Iraqi government to support its coronavirus response, which is carried out in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the organization in a statement on Monday.
“With this [$4.1 million] contribution, the United Kingdom joins 12 international partners in supporting UNDP’s COVID-19 rapid health emergency response in Iraq,” said UNDP.
“UNDP’s response aims to strengthen Iraq’s health sector in response to the pandemic, improve access to isolation wards and medical equipment, increase public awareness of COVID-19 symptoms and prevention measures, and provide personal protective equipment to healthcare workers.”
This comes as Baghdad struggles to contain the second wave of the pandemic. Iraqi health ministry recorded 6,188 cases of coronavirus and 33 deaths on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 977,175, including 14,981 deathes.
Preventative measures like weekend lockdowns have not decreased the daily records of the virus. The government has announced that public servants cannot return to work and people cannot visit certain government offices from Tuesday unless they get vaccinated.
Zena Ali Ahmad, UNDP Resident Representative, was quoted in the UNDP statement as saying the UK’s “generous contribution enables us to boost our support even further as we collectively fight this pandemic.”
Stephen Hickey, British Ambassador to Iraq, was also quoted in the statement as saying that his government is “pleased to make available this funding through UNDP to strengthen Iraq’s national health response and help manage the ongoing outbreak.”
“With this [$4.1 million] contribution, the United Kingdom joins 12 international partners in supporting UNDP’s COVID-19 rapid health emergency response in Iraq,” said UNDP.
“UNDP’s response aims to strengthen Iraq’s health sector in response to the pandemic, improve access to isolation wards and medical equipment, increase public awareness of COVID-19 symptoms and prevention measures, and provide personal protective equipment to healthcare workers.”
The UK’s £3m donation via UNDP🇺🇳 is part of the £17m we have given Iraq to help fight Covid. 🇬🇧🇮🇶
— Stephen Hickey (@sblhickey) April 19, 2021
Delighted also to see Iraqis using the Astra Zeneca/Oxford vaccine💉, which was developed and funded by the UK. https://t.co/CZVv4lErHm
This comes as Baghdad struggles to contain the second wave of the pandemic. Iraqi health ministry recorded 6,188 cases of coronavirus and 33 deaths on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 977,175, including 14,981 deathes.
Preventative measures like weekend lockdowns have not decreased the daily records of the virus. The government has announced that public servants cannot return to work and people cannot visit certain government offices from Tuesday unless they get vaccinated.
Zena Ali Ahmad, UNDP Resident Representative, was quoted in the UNDP statement as saying the UK’s “generous contribution enables us to boost our support even further as we collectively fight this pandemic.”
Stephen Hickey, British Ambassador to Iraq, was also quoted in the statement as saying that his government is “pleased to make available this funding through UNDP to strengthen Iraq’s national health response and help manage the ongoing outbreak.”
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment