The European Union has launched a comprehensive EUR 3 million (KGS 265 Million) Central Asia COVID-19 Crisis Response (CACCR) solidarity package, addressing the health system challenges of Central Asian countries. Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic reported.
The programme will provide support to mitigate the current outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also contribute towards longer-term resilience of the national health systems of the Central Asian countries by increasing their capacities to respond to similar public health threats, should they occur in the future.
In Kyrgyzstan, among other activities, the programme will provide crucial personal protective equipment for health and first-line workers, strengthen national laboratories capacities, support health service infrastructure and standards and assess capacity gaps in prevention, preparedness and response, human resources for health and other barriers affecting effective national response to health emergencies.
«The CACCR Programme is designed around three consecutive phases. First, it will address immediate needs in the framework of existing national COVID-19 preparedness and response plans. Then, once the peak of the outbreak is passed, the focus will shift on the recovery and preparation for a potential second wave. Finally, looking at the long-term perspective, a number of activities will be implemented in order to build and maintain resilient, responsive and strengthened health systems,» the EU stressed.
The CACCR is a two years-long regional programme for Central Asia, launched in July 2020. It is a part of the EUR 124 million solidarity package, mobilised by the European Union for the Central Asia region in the context of the Team Europe global response to COVID-19.
