UNDP Gives $200,000 for Quarantine Works

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office has given US$200,000 to help our Government with COVID-19 quarantine efforts.

The funds will go towards accommodating returning Fijian citizens in isolation in designated hotels and pay for their accommodation and meals and meal allowances for medical personnel. UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Representative Levan Bouadze said this support would assist the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in terms of adequate quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to communities. He said defeating the pandemic is the ultimate aim and UNDP would explore ways to assist countries to better prevent and manage such pandemics.

“UNDP’s support will also help ensure that the responses of individual countries, such as Fiji, are comprehensive as well as equitable and inclusive, so that no one is left behind and countries can continue to progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Mr Bouadze said.

The partnership will allow health professionals to detect and treat possible COVID-19 patients securely in quarantine facilities. They would be quarantined for 14 days after which they will be reviewed, tested and monitored for all medical issues, including dental and non-communicable disease.

Attorney-General Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum said Fiji’s COVID-19 safe travel protocols allow for the welcome of returning Fijian citizens without jeopardising the COVID-19 contained status that the Government has worked to achieve.

“This is a global pandemic that demands stronger bridges of global co-operation to overcome, and we’re grateful for the UNDP’s support towards returning Fijian citizens home safely at no direct cost to them,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.