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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo and Austrian Development Cooperation signed an agreement today, ensuring the provision of immediate support to Kosovo in response to the global COVID-19 health crisis. The Austrian donation of € 250,000 is part of the Austrian Development Cooperation’s Emergency Facility Programme in response to COVID-19, which was launched to halt the spread and relieve the impact of the coronavirus in Kosovo.
Mr. Alexander Schallenberg, the Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, and Ms. Maria Suokko, UNDP Resident Representative, signed the agreement in total value of € 250,000. The Austrian financial support will be used to purchase COVID-19 test kits which will be handed over to the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (NIPHK). The signing ceremony took place at the Pristina International Airport where Minister Schallenberg and Ms. Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, came for a short visit and met their Kosovar counterparts, joined by H.E. Christoph Weidinger, the Austrian Ambassador to Kosovo, and Mr. Gunther Zimmer, Head of the Austrian Development Cooperation’s office in Kosovo
“UNDP has been supporting Kosovo’s institutions in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since its outbreak. Today’s agreement with the Austrian Development Cooperation is the latest contribution by our international partners to help Kosovo fight the pandemic. We continue to closely cooperate 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,” said Ms. Suokko at the signing ceremony.
“As a long-standing partner of both Kosovo’s institutions and UNDP, it is my great pleasure to sign this agreement on behalf of the Austrian Government. Although social distancing restrictions are gradually being lifted, each and every one of us needs to keep on staying cautious. Testing is inevitable to help keep the spread of the virus under control. Our support to fight the impact of the pandemic will significantly contribute to strengthening our partner country’s testing capacities. And we will continue our support to Kosovo in the months to come,” said the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg at the signing.
The agreement enables the purchase of urgently needed test kits. It will allow the Ministry of Health to efficiently trace the spread of the virus, localize hotspots of the epidemic and use the ensuing data as a basis to forecast and plan future containment strategies.
Working at the heart of UN Kosovo Team, UNDP in Kosovo has been supporting the people and institutions of Kosovo to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic since the outbreak, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable. We have rapidly shifted focus, responding swiftly and efficiently and reorienting our programme to assist Kosovo’s efforts to stop the spread of the virus, helping to protect people from the pandemic and its impacts, respond during the outbreak, and recover from the economic and social impacts in the months to come.
To learn more about our work to fight the pandemic, please visit our page: https://www.ks.undp.org/content/kosovo/en/home/covid-19-pandemic-response.html
For more information, please contact:
Burbuqe Dobranja, UNDP Communications Associate
Phone: (038) 249 066 ext. 410; mobile: 049 720 800 e-mail: burbuqe.dobranja@undp.org
Danijela Mitić, Communication Associate UNDP
Phone: (038) 249 066 ext. 412; mobile: 049 720 824 e-mail: danijela.mitic@undp.org
Gresa Abrashi, ADA Head of Admin. & Finance
Phone: (038) 248 151; mobile: 044 735 100 e-mail: gresa.abrashi@ada.gv.at
