The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is supporting various projects to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in areas of boosting national healthcare capacities, reducing risk of transmission, mitigating socio-economic impact and catalysing transformative recovery, according to a UN-supported website. Established in 2017, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund is a dedicated facility within the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation. It is supported and led by the Government of India, managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system. According to information on the website South-South Galaxy, a global knowledge sharing platform, supported by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), projects in Antigua and Barbuda focussed on strengthening national health capacities and reducing socio-economic and human development negative impacts of COVID-19 crisis. A one million dollar budget has been approved for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) implementation of the project, which aims to develop a food security strategy, identifying vulnerable households and develop mechanisms for cash-transfers and in-kind support. Under the project, support will be provided towards economic reactivation and transition of small businesses with self-employed workers and actors in the informal economy to a more sustainable model for the period of social distancing and beyond, it said. In Palau, a project aims to strengthen national health capacities to address COVID-19 crisis. Medical supplies, equipment and testing capacity have been approved with a budget of USD 153,000. In Grenada, with a budget of USD 100,000, the project approved will see purchasing and installing of new incinerator for proper management of biomedical waste. In Guyana, the project’s focus is strengthening clinical management of COVID-19 patients and reducing the risk of virus transmission among healthcare workers. With a total budget USD 1 million, the project will provide key intensive care medical equipment for improved COVID-19 patient care in Guyana and it aims to reduce the risk of infection among health workers by securing the provision of adequate Personal Protection Equipment. In Saint Lucia, with a budget of USD 1 million, the project is approved for implementation by UNDP and World Food Program (WFP). UNDP will procure ventilators and Personal Protection Equipment while WFP will support the government-led cash transfer programme to address the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 response on the most vulnerable households in Saint Lucia and in expanding the Public Assistance Programme (PAP) to increase the reach to affected and vulnerable persons. In Nauru, a USD 1 million project, approved for implementation by the UNDP and the WHO, will focus on procuring medical equipment and Personal Protection Equipment.
