UN Representatives and National Partners Provided Modern Infrared Non-Contact Thermometers to Public Health Facilities of Minsk Region as Part of Coronavirus Response

The aid was rendered as part of the international technical aid project “Supporting Functioning of Architecture for Managing Sustainable Development Goals Achievement in the Republic of Belarus” financed by UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA in Belarus, coordinated by SDG National Coordinator and implemented in partnership with the Foreign Ministry of Belarus. 

Given the COVID-19 situation, project funds in the amount of 15 thousand US dollars initially allocated for the sustainable development international forum, which had been called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were doled out to support public health and social care facilities of Belarus.

Non-contact thermometers measure the temperature in 30 seconds with no need to touch a patient.  Therefore physical contact between medical workers and patients decline, thus preventing virus transmission and simplifying the measure procedure.  This is especially important when working with infants and children with special needs.

The thermometers purchased as part of the joint project will be delivered to maternity hospitals of Minsk region, infant orphanages and residential facilities for disabled children in all regions of Belarus.

The delivery of thermometers was organized in the Minsk Regional Clinical Maternity Hospital with the participation of SDG National Coordinator and Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Anatoly Isachenko, UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus Alexandra Solovieva, and UNFPA Assistant Representative in Belarus Olga Atroshchenko.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to solve the high-priority tasks in the field of public health and social care, UN funds and programmes in Belarus have mobilized new resources and reassigned international technical aid projects carried out by the UN system for the total of 5 million US dollars. These funds have been doled out to purchase sanitizers, medical face masks and gloves, other personnel protective equipment, and to publish materials raising public awareness for different groups of population.

The UN system has managed to involve rapid response budgets allocated as contingent financing by head-quarters of UN funds and programmes and has mobilized the funds of the key donors including European Union, United States Agency for International Development, Poland, Russian Federation, Germany, Global Environmental Facility and Belarusian private sector.

Acting as a unified system UN in Belarus has focused its efforts on social and economic response to COVID-19. Supporting small businesses and organizations offering social services to the most vulnerable the UN agencies hence provide direct support to help tackle the challenges caused by the coronavirus. Long-term priorities include distance learning, digitalization, contribution to local social and economic development, dealing with gender issues associated with COVID-19, providing social services to the vulnerable groups such as elderly people, people with disabilities, migrants, refugees.