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Ecuador - COVID-19
Quick note from Ecuador, where our UN team there is led by Resident Coordinator Lena Savelli and is working with authorities to address the impact of the pandemic. The team has been focusing on small and medium companies to keep them open and safeguard jobs. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNHCR [United Nations Refugee Agency] and the UN migration agency (IOM) have launched a digital start‑up initiative that has reached over 120,000 businesses with guidelines on how to boost their capacity to deliver their products and services online. This also targets migrant and refugee workers.
For its part, UNFPA [United Nations Population Fund] is co‑financing a $4 million initiative with the Government to work with authorities on recommendations for maternal care, delivery, post‑partum and contraception information, to meet the family planning needs of Ecuadorians. And they’re also supporting the authorities’ response in the northern and southern borders, including in the Amazon region, mobilizing resources for testing kits, personal protective equipment for health officials, and training on sexual and reproductive health for local authorities, targeting half a million people.