Provision of medical equipment for COVID-19 emergency response

Thursday, 24 June 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

UNOPS Sri Lanka has been procuring emergency medical equipment for the Ministry of Health (MoH) in accordance with the requirements outlined by the Ministry to combat COVID-19.

Recent procurement has contributed towards oxygen therapy to combat the ongoing third wave of COVID-19 in the country. The COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Project (ERHSP) procurement is funded by the World Bank.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) organised a ceremony with the World Bank and UNOPS to hand over 100 oxygen concentrators at the value of $ 110,000 on 4 June 2021. This is the initial consignment out of a total of 2,100 oxygen concentrators to be provided to the Ministry of Health.

The event was presided over by Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi in the presence of World Bank Country Manager Chiyo Kanda, World Bank Senior Health Specialist Dr. Deepika Attygalle, Ministry of Health Secretary Dr. S.H. Munasinghe, Project Director (Primary Health Care System Strengthening Project) Dr. Jayasundara Bandara and UNOPS Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Sudhir Muralidharan.

Muralidharan underlined the significance of the partnership between UNOPS, the Ministry of Health and the World Bank which has accredited the relevant and timely delivery of critical healthcare procurement in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Health equipment was procured using UNOPS’ Emergency Procurement Procedures and long-term agreements with global suppliers to facilitate swift, transparent and accountable procurement and delivery thereby enabling life-saving solutions to the Sri Lanka health sector in their fight against the virus.

Kanda noted that supporting short term emergency needs to build Sri Lanka’s health system capacity is a priority for the World Bank while continuing to support the government to strengthen the health sector capacity to manage future health challenges.

UNOPS will continue to procure lifesaving equipment to support the emergency response during these challenging times.