Action Aid Nepal handed over 9,457 PPE sets to health ministry

Kathmandu: Action Aid Nepal, on Tuesday has distributed 9,457 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) sets to the Ministry of Health and Population to support the health personnel working in testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients.
In a ceremony conducted at the ministry, ActionAid Nepal’s Executive Director Sujeeta Mathema handed over the equipment sets worth Rs 16.2 billion to Minister of Health and Population Mr. Bhanubhakta Dhakal.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Secretary of Health Ministry Laxman Aryal expressed his gratitude and confidence that the protective equipment would help reduce the risks among health personnel providing frontline services in COVID-19 testing and treatment.
“The ministry will distribute these items to areas that require them the most, allowing for our health workers to continue working to save people without the fear of their own lives” he added.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Padam Prasad Khatiwada, Vice Chairperson at the Social Welfare Council (SWC) recalled the request made to the nongovernment organizations to develop and implement programs in COVID-19 response and was pleased that Action Aid Nepal was doing the same by distribution of health and safety materials.
He expressed confidence that the materials distributed to the frontline workers through the ministry will support in the national campaign against COVID-19 pandemic.
Among various social and economic development activities, ActionAid Nepal has been
supporting to reduce the risks of COVID-19 among the deprived and marginalized
communities by raising awareness, emergency response and distributing relief and health safety materials. The PPE sets will be distributed to the health personnel working in the Kathmandu Valley, Bardiya, Doti, Bajura, Siraha and other districts in collaboration with HBCC, DFID, Unilever and Standard Chartered Bank.
Among 9,457 PPE sets, 4,000 sets were handed over to the ministry for distribution to crisis areas as required. Remaining 5,457 sets will be handed over to health personnel working in COVID-19 response through different local government units and partner organizations in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Bardiya, Bajura, Doti and Siraha districts.
ActionAid Nepal’s Executive Director Ms. Sujeeta Mathema expressed her confidence that the protective materials will support health personnel in providing service with safety during this crisis. “We supported the materials so that health services are not hampered during the crisis due to lack of safety equipment”, she added, “We hope that this will further widen health services, especially to the vulnerable; women, children, differently abled and senior citizens.”
ActionAid Nepal expresses its deepest gratitude to the Ministry of Health and Population for its support and collaboration in distribution of the protective equipment to the frontline health workers.
More than 500,000 people in the COVID-19 crisis will be directly or indirectly benefitted through Action Aid Nepal’s awareness activities, food and relief support and distribution of COVID-19 response and prevention kits.