UNICEF sends 18.5 metric tons of protective aid supplies to Iran to contain Covid-19 outbreak

Thanks to the generous financial support of the Government of Japan, UNICEF was able to fly into Iran the fourth shipment of Covid-19 aid supplies from the UNICEF Global Supply Hub in Copenhagen containing 18.5 metric tons of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the country’s health personnel working tirelessly around the clock to treat Covid-19 patients in different provinces.

UNICEF Representative in Iran, Mandeep O’Brien during a visit to the warehouse in Tehran where the items are directly transferred from Imam Khomeini International Airport for further distribution to provinces said: “We are thankful to our donors, specially the Government of Japan, for joining our response plan to help the Government of Iran contain the Covid-19 outbreak. These PPEs are vital in ensuring the health and safety of Iran’s health personnel in their ongoing courageous and passionate battle against Covid-19.”

She added: “Yet our response plan is not limited to procuring PPEs. We stand united with our partners in the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that every child, including the most vulnerable, are safely protected from the short and medium-term impact of this pandemic on their physical and mental health and well-being as well as their education and schooling.”

Prior to this shipment, as of March 1st 2020, UNICEF had flown into Iran a total of 8 metric tons of PPE supplies in three shipments funded by UNICEF's global emergency resources to protect Iran's health personnel in their battle against Covid-19. The PPE containing two types of masks, non-filtered and high-filtered, surgical gowns and surgical goggles were distributed in hospitals admitting Covid-19 patients, under medical universities in six provinces of Gilan, Tehran, Qom, Kashan, Alborz and Isfahan.

UNICEF Iran is routinely publishing on its website and social media channels, the Persian translation of the latest key informative material on Coronavirus from UNICEF and WHO global websites.

UNICEF’s mission during the COVID-19 crisis is to protect every child affected by the disease itself and the changing context wherever in the world they may be. This emergency increases the vulnerability and risk to all children and their families, whether from existing crises or from the new and unknown. UNICEF remains steadfast in its mission to provide essential support, protection, information, as well as hope of a brighter day for every child.