United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided a grant of USD 750,000 to the Maldives.
UNICEF Maldives said the grant was provided to support the national COVID-19 response effort of the Maldives, in particular, by providing assistance for schools and community spaces to reopen safely. The grant is funded by the USAID and implemented by the UNICEF in collaboration with the government of Maldives.
The grant will support community engagement, focusing on parents, teachers, children, and adolescents as the Maldives plans to reopen schools and public spaces in addition to other services. It will provide water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies and strengthen effective infection control for the school reopening phase. The grant will also improve national data collection and analysis tools to support policy decisions for the well-being of Maldivian children and youth.
US Ambassador to Maldives Alaina B. Teplitz said the US is providing high-quality, critical, and meaningful assistance to save lives. She said lending a helping hand during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is part of the enduring commitment to the health and wellness of Maldivians.
UNICEF Representative in the Maldives Dr. Munir A. Safieldin expressed his gratitude to the US government for the generous contribution at a critical moment in the pandemic. Safieldin said efforts need to be scaled up to avoid a new surge of infections in the Maldives, as lockdown measures are relaxed and services are due to gradually reopen. He said the support from the US comes just at the right moment for the UNICEF to continue to provide critical support to the Maldives, adding it will ensure that some of the most vulnerable people including children and young people are protected from COVID-19.
The partnership between UNICEF Maldives and USAID is part of a strong and what will be a long-lasting collaboration to support Maldives as it recovers from COVID-19.