UNICEF has delivered a batch of personal protective equipment for frontline workers in the health care sector and border bolice. The assistance includes 100,000 surgical masks, 20,000 face shields, and 500,000 pairs of gloves, UNICEF Moldova said in a press release.

Most of the personal protective equipment will be made available to frontline healthcare workers, to protect them from the risk of getting infected with COVID-19.

The support is provided as a part of the UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Multi-Partner Trust Fund, implemented by UNICEF, UN Women and IOM. The fund is financed by the Governments of Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Switzerland in the amount of $1 million, out of which UNICEF Moldova implements $750,000.

Desiree Jongsma, UNICEF Country Representative in Moldova, stated that frontline workers in health and non-health related professions are the backbone of an effective response to COVID-19. “We need to help ensure their protection, as the audacity of both health workers and other frontline staff in the fight against COVID-19 is extraordinary,” added Desiree Jongsma.

The equipment will first of all go to the medical institutions that care for children infected with COVID-19, and would meet their 6-month demand, said Mihai Ciocanu, director of the Institute of Emergency Medicine.

20,000 masks and 80,000 pairs of gloves from the batch are reserved for border police workers.

In the following months, UNICEF will continue to provide additional personal protective equipment for the front-line workers in health and non-health entities in order to help ensure the efficient and safe provision of public services during the COVID-19 crisis.