$500,000 of COVID-19 supplies dispatched to Darfur

Last week, more than $500,000 of essential medical supplies were dispatched Darfur in response to the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 cases in Sudan. The delivery, spread across Darfur’s five states, form part of ongoing efforts to address the pandemic, with more than 30,000 confirmed cases nationwide.

Supplies include 25 patient monitors for intensive care units, resuscitators for adults, children, and infants, more than 46,000 disposable gowns, 19,000 disposable goggles, 1.2m pairs of disposable latex examination gloves, and hundreds of thousands of other protective or medical items. These supplies are destined for the Federal and State Ministries of Health, and WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF health responses.

Funded by UNAMID under its State Liaison Function, and procured by UNDP on behalf of the United Nations Country Team in Sudan, the supplies are destined for the Federal and State Ministries of Health, and WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF health responses. The supplies form part of $1.9m of COVID-19 health support committed by UNAMID to be procured by UNDP, with further deliveries expected in March and April.

Additionally, health and hygiene supplies were dispatched to prisons, police stations, and Human Rights Commission offices across Darfur’s five states. The supplies are intended to support inmates and staff, where traditional preventative measures like physical distancing can be difficult to implement safely.

Supplies include water tanks, cleaning materials and hygiene supplies. Funding for these items comes from the UNDP Global Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law and Human Rights for Sustaining Peace and Fostering Development.

Combined, these efforts build on UNDP’s health system enhancement efforts across Sudan, and ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including livelihood supporting PPE production, mobilizing local communities, socio-economic recovery support, and investment in health infrastructure.