Venezuelans can rely on CAF and PAHO to cope with COVID-19

CAF—development bank of Latin America —and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO),, regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO), reiterate their commitment to the well-being of Venezuelans with a joint work aimed to save lives, protect health care workers and curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Through the emergency aid program for its shareholder countries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, CAF granted non-reimbursable funds in the amount of USD 750,000 to support Venezuelans. The funds will be directly managed by PAHO, and 70% of them have been invested in laboratory supplies that have helped perform50,000 molecular tests at the Rafael Rangel National Institute of Hygiene, and the delivery of protective equipment to health care personnel in 31 hospitals and health care centers, among others.

“For 50 years we have been an unconditional partner of Venezuelans, and in the context of this health care emergency, we have capitalized on PAHO’s knowledge and experience with the purpose of saving lives and promoting the well-being of the population.” At CAF, we are committed to Venezuela’s sustainable development, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the work done by the officials in our head office, who have helped us cope with this pandemic with their work, while ensuring protection by working remotely,” said CAF executive president Luis Carranza Ugarte.

”Faced with the challenges posed by the pandemic, we must focus our response efforts towards three fundamental principles: creating safe occupational conditions for frontline workers, cutting off transmission and saving as many lives as possible,” said Dr. Enrique Pérez, PAHO/WHO representative in Venezuela.

The joint work with the Ministry of Health, the National Assembly and health sector associations has enabled the delivery of more than 1,2 million face masks, 200,000 face masks with respirators, 130,000 face shields, 21,000 disposable gowns, and 9,000 safety protective goggles in the six states with the highest number of confirmed cases nationwide: Apure, Bolívar, Capital District, Miranda, Táchira and Zulia. In addition, 20 respiratory ventilators are planned for delivery in the coming weeks.

Thus, both institutions offer their best efforts to all authorities and people of Venezuela, working together to curb the pandemic, based on an unwavering commitment to expediting and ensuring transparency of processes.