Kyrgyzstan received eight more ventilators for artificial respiration and 6550 PCR tests for Covid-19 diagnostics from the Global Fund supported “Effective HIV and TB control project in Kyrgyz Republic”, implemented by UNDP from July 2018 till December 2020. This life-saving medical equipment and diagnostic tests worth 266,438 USD and will be distributed in the country’s regions to strengthen the country’s preparedness to the COVID-19 epidemic.

“I would like to take this opportunity to greatly appreciate support of the Country Coordinating Mechanism for HIV and TB, or CCM for short, which has advocated for this re-orientation of Global Fund country resources for Kyrgyzstan to boost the national COVID-19 response.

And let me also appreciate the UNDP Global Fund implementation team, and our global procurement support office, who managed to secure and deliver the equipment in spite of extreme global procurement and transport challenges. We demonstrated once again UNDP’s technical, administrative and practical capacity to respond fast and effectively to crisis and new requests from the country, while also coordinating closely with other development partners and donor agencies,”

Louise Chamberlain, UNDP Resident Representative.

The medical equipment was donated to the Ministry of Health on Tuesday June 16th. Ventilators will be distributed as following: 2 for the Republican Infectious Disease Hospital in Bishkek, 2 for the National TB Center in Bishkek, 2 for the region of Osh and 2 for the region of Jalal-Abad. An additional 2 ventilators will be donated to the penitentiary system, these devices will be used to help patients in respiratory distress.

Previously, the UNDP under the Global Fund project donated 50,000 surgical masks and 2,000 FFP2 respirators for health care workers in contact with Covid-19.

Continued support to HIV and TB Patients

As soon as the pandemic was declared, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria promptly reacted  and allowed beneficiary countries to reallocate savings and planned funding to fight the unexpected Covid-19 outbreak. After request from the Country Coordinating Mechanism for HIV and TB, the project donated material aid under this emergency response for a total amount of 420 000 USD.

The UNDP / Global Fund project is also working closely with partners to adapt its response to the HIV and TB epidemics in the country, ensuring continued treatment for patients, timely diagnosis and prevention for key population groups regardless of the difficult situation. To this end, innovative treatment methods and video observation are being used to ensure support and monitoring of patients, who now receive their medications for longer periods.

TB and HIV patients are vulnerable to secondary infections due to their weakened immune system, which is why protecting them from Covid-19 is a priority. Maintaining prevention and care activities, timely and accurate diagnosis, continuous treatment, support and education, and providing patients in difficult situations with financial and humanitarian aid is key to ensure that there are no unnecessary losses in this new context. Many accomplishments have been reached in the fights against HIV and TB in the past decades, and the UNDP / Global Fund is doing everything it can to ensure there are no setbacks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.