The EU is allocating an additional €1 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Syria to strengthen the COVID-19 response. The humanitarian funding will primarily be used to increase testing capacity and scale up vaccination across Syria.
Health services in Syria are overstretched, the health workforce is working around the clock, and supplies and resources are depleting quickly to address the increased demands of the COVID-19 response.
“WHO continues to provide critical support to respond to the prolonged fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria. We appreciate the EU’s latest contribution which will help operationalize vaccination teams to administer newly delivered vaccines and enhance COVID-19 testing capacity to contain emerging cases,” said Dr Akjemal Magtymova, Head of Mission and WHO Representative.
The funds will enable WHO to cover part of the vaccination’s operational costs in the coming months and to support 840 vaccinators at fixed facilities; 770 vaccinators at mobile centres in both accessible and hard-to-reach areas; 510 supervisors; 148 supply officers; and transportation costs.
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