UNICEF delivers more supplies to support China’s response to COVID-19

More medical supplies from the United Nations Children's Fund have been delivered to China as a support to the country's battle against novel coronavirus.

Procured from Germany, the supplies will be dispatched to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and other regions in Central China's Hubei province.

The 100 cubic meter consignment aims to help bridge the gap of essential supplies required for those working to curb the virus. They include many much-needed items, such as masks, protective clothing, goggles, medical glovesand hand sanitizers.

The latest shipment brought the total worth of UNICEF-donated supplies to nearly $1 million, with a combined weight of more than 30 metric tons. The first batch of supplies arrived in Wuhan on Jan 30, while the second batch was delivered to Beijing just days later.

Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF representative to China, said the agency is helping bridge the immediate gap by providing personal protective equipment,as well as medical/hospital equipment, to meet the large demand among health workers on the front line.

"We are here with China every step of the way to help address the outbreak," she said.

UNICEF also is working with the World Health Organization, China's National Health Commission and other partners to strengthen risk communication and tackle misinformation so that children, pregnant women and their families know how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The UN agency is partnering with the Department of the Protection of the Rights of Youth under the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China to provide mental health and psychosocial support to adolescents who have been home in recent weeks, with school reopening postponed due to the outbreak.

In addition, UNICEF is looking at the outbreak's wider implications, focusing on the safe delivery of essential health and social services, education and child protection services, as well as psychosocial support and stigma prevention for affected children and families.