Ireland and UNICEF donate K10.6m worth of data management equipment to Malawi
The Irish Government in partnership with UNICEF on Wednesday donated data management equipment worth K10.6million ($13,000) to the Malawi Government in support of national Covid-19 response.
Irish Ambassador to Malawi, Seams O’Grady, said during the official handover that his government is pleased to assist Malawi in the fight against the pandemic.
“We commend the country for standing firm in the fight against this pandemic,” he said.
UNICEF Deputy Country Representative, Garrit Maritz, said there is continued leadership in spearheading policy direction, disseminating regular and transparent communications and embracing evidence-based intervention packages to prevent, diagnose and manage the pandemic in Malawi.
But, Maritz said, the pandemic is far from over, “while children are not at the greatest direct risk from the virus itself, they continue to suffer disproportionately from its socioeconomic consequences.”
Unicef will therefore continue to advocate and collaborate with partners to improve the health outcomes of children, he said.
In her acceptance remarks, Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, said the data equipment received from partners is timely and will help the country manage the genomic sequencing of Covid 19 and other diseases.
“We are very grateful to our partners because this is a huge step in public health as we are now capable of handling the diseases,” she said.
Chiponda said the equipment will basically be used to manage data at Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM).
She assured that the equipment would be taken care of and used for its intended purposes.
