United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo together with the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg delivered today the second batch of health supplies consisting of 5,000 extraction test kits to the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (NIPHK) and the Ministry of Health.

Mr. Arben Vitia, Minister of Health, Ms. Maria Suokko, UNDP Resident Representative, Ministry of Health and NIPHK officials were present at the handover which took place at the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo.

This donation comes as part of an agreement reached between the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and UNDP for providing immediate support to Kosovo in response to COVID-19.

Minister of Health, Arben Vitia who was present at the ceremony emphasized the importance of partnership during these difficult times: “Sustainable partnership with friendly nations and support of the globally influential organisations play an important role in the management of COVID-19 pandemics, as well. In the framework of this partnership, with the support of the Government of Luxembourg and UNDP, we have received today a valuable donation for protection of public health, a significant amount of RT-PCR tests, a contingent that will impact the increase of the capability and engagement in the joint fight against COVID-19. Testing is an important component that reduces the spread of the virus and your contribution is extremely important to the health system in Kosovo. I take this opportunity to thank UNDP and Luxembourg and express my gratitude for the assistance provided during this period of public health emergency,” said Vitia.

“UNDP stands together with the Kosovo institutions in fight of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s donation was made possible through generous contribution by the Government of Luxembourg through LuxDev in Kosovo and we thank them wholeheartedly. We are closely cooperating with the Ministry of Health and other institutions in Kosovo to support them in responding to the most immediate needs and managing the crisis effectively,” Ms. Suokko said during the event.

Ms. Natacha Gomes, Chargée d’affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Pristina conveyed her greetings: “As a longstanding partner, Luxembourg supports Kosovo in the fight against COVID-19. Today’s delivery is part of a broader effort that we are undertaking together with our trusted partners such as UNDP. As we slowly enter the different phases of gradually lifting the restrictions, testing becomes ever more important in order to be able to keep the pandemic under control and to act fast. Widespread testing along with adherence to safety measures is the only way to keep COVID-19 in check and everyone has a role to play.”

The agreement with the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg through the Lux Development S.A. is in total value of Euro 1 million from which EUR 460,000 will be used for purchase of up to 20,000 of the COVID-19 detection and extraction kits for the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo (UCCK) in Pristina.  This will allow the Ministry of Health to efficiently trace the spread of the virus and localize the hot spots of the epidemic, as a basis for forecasting and planning the containment strategy. The remaining amount of the contribution will be used for humanitarian support to households that have been particularly affected by COVID-19.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kosovo, UNDP has been working closely with authorities to support the immediate response to the pandemic by procuring urgently needed medical supplies, personal protective equipment to the front-liners, and providing food assistance to those in most vulnerable situations.