UNICEF Lao PDR today handed over IT equipment and personal protective equipment – PPE – to the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICT) to further strengthen UNICEF’s cooperation with the Government of Lao PDR in promoting the rights and wellbeing of children and women in the country, as well as to support those in quarantine centres during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The equipment provided consist of two sets of teleconferences for MICT and the Lao National Radio (LNR) and one photocopy machine and one laptop to the Mass Media Department of MICT. The Vientiane Times newspaper also received an iMax PC and two photo cameras.
The PPE supplies consist of 1,000 boxes of face masks, 100 gallons of hand sanitizer gel, 500 pocket bottles of hand sanitizer gel, 200 alcohol pocket bottles, 30 units of infrared thermometers and 15 units Non-contact digital infrared.
While the IT equipment provided will contribute towards supporting the implementation of COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) activities, including communication on vaccines roll out, at subnational levels, the PPE on the other hand will be distributed to critical MICT and media staff as well as children and women in the quarantine centres.
“To effectively control the spread of COVID-19 and limit its impact on the lives of children and women, providing information is key and we must continue raising awareness about COVID-19 prevention and control measures as well as hygiene practices.
“UNICEF is strongly committed to supporting the Government of the Lao PDR in effectively handling the COVID-19 response. We have previously supported the Government supplies and it is our hope that the new IT equipment and PPE will further contribute towards strengthening UNICEF and MICT’s cooperation to ensure the safety of children and women during the pandemic,” stated UNICEF Representative of UNICEF Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto.
In addition to the aforementioned equipment, UNICEF will also provide MICT and Lao national radio with Zoom licenses to enable them to use the cloud-based video conferencing service to host large-sized online meetings as a means of addressing the social distancing difficulties associated with organizing large-scale in-person meetings.
Source: Lao News Agency
