Cursor International executes projects and collaboration activities across several industries.
By Al-Monitor staff. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraq’s coronavirus cases top 100,000 as Baghdad airport reopens
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iraq exceeded 100,000 on Thursday as the country’s airport in Baghdad reopened to commercial flights for the first time since March.
Battling Coronavirus: France prioritizes critical medical equipment in southern Iraq
The Government of France has committed EUR 300,000 (US$334,448) to support the Government of Iraq’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The funds will be used to purchase ventilators – a life-saving piece of equipment for Coronavirus patients – for Basra Teaching Hospital in southern Iraq.
“The emergence of COVID-19 has exacerbated the many challenges experienced by communities in Basra, who are struggling to access basic infrastructure and services. We are very grateful for this contribution from France which will alleviate the extreme pressure currently placed on under-resourced health facilities in Basra. As the pandemic has unfolded globally, we have seen how important ventilators have been in saving lives,” says Resident Respresentive of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.
In addition to ventilators and other life-saving equipment provided to the hospital, UNDP Iraq is also building isolation units, providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers to stop the spread of the virus, and boosting the testing capacity of labs to increase the detection of cases.
It also supports an online awareness-raising platform, Corona in Iraq which outlines symptoms and risks of COVID-19, dispels rumors about the virus, and tracks symptoms to encourage people to seek medical advice.
“France is fully committed to actively support the Governement of Iraq to meet the needs of the Iraqi population. This medical equipment will contribute to help medical teams in southern Iraq to face with this urgent situation and allow them to save more lives. We welcome all the efforts made by UNDP to coordinate the help of international donors in order to combat the spread of the disease in Iraq”, says the Ambassador of France, Bruno Aubert.”
In addition to Basra, UNDP Iraq’s COVID-19 response package extends to Anbar, Babel, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Dohuk, Karbala, Kirkuk, Missan, Najaf, Ninewa and Salah Al-Din.
With this latest contribution, France has provided US$7.8 million in support to UNDP Iraq since 2015.
(Source: UNDP)
The University of Karbala produces locally made hand sanitizer and disinfectant for health facilities, in first of its kind UNICEF-supported project
In the first of its kind project since the corona virus outbreak, graduate students in the pharmaceutical department of the University of Karbala have produced 14,500 locally made hand sanitizers and 10,000 large products to disinfect surfaces, with the support of UNICEF and its partner the Karbala Directorate of Health.
Over the course of the month of June, the bottles were distributed to primary healthcare centers in Karbala and Baghdad, both which have been hard hit by covid19.
“We have been distributing hand sanitizer and soap to some of the most vulnerable communities since the beginning of the outbreak. To now be able to support Iraqis as they themselves produce items they need to protect their communities from COVID-19 is something we are proud of and that lives up to our commitment to empower local communities who are driving positive change,” said Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF’s Representative in Iraq.
The sanitizer is produced according to the highest global standards and with locally sourced raw materials. The gel is then bottled into 250 milliliters containers that are labelled and include instructions on how to use. The production cost of one bottle amounts 2 US dollars, a third of the average selling price of one hand sanitizer bottle (6 dollars) on the market.
“I am happy with the quality of the materials that we are using. I hope that our work will benefit Iraqis across the country, and not only here in Karbala,” explained Karrar Abd, one of the graduate students taking part in the production.
There are already plans to produce at least 10,000 more bottles that will be distributed in the two governorates, as well as in Basra and Najaf. The production process takes up to three weeks. Once ready, youth volunteers who are trained in hygiene promotion by UNICEF distribute the bottles to public health clinics and centers. To date, the hand sanitizer bottles, and disinfectant solution have been given to 34 main Primary health care centers in Karbala and Baghdad.
“I heard so many people say that COVID-19 does not exist, which is not true. Someone in my family came into contact with the disease and transmitted it on to others. I know that hand sanitizer is the best way to prevent us from spreading COVID-19 because it ensures that we have clean hands, and therefore I wanted to work on this project. It makes me feel I am giving something to my community,” explained 22-year old Zainab Hussein, one of the volunteers from Karbala who participated in the distributing.
With access to hand sanitizer, patients and health workers alike can practice hand hygiene, thereby enabling health centers to continue providing communities with essential services such as immunization and maternal health despite COVID-19. The project was made possible with generous support of the Department of International Development (DFID UK).
(Source: UN)
By Yerevan Saeed for Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Coronavirus could cause US to lose Iraqi Kurdish region to China
Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, China has been working to expand its influence over the KRG through medical aid.
By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Virus survivors rake in cash for plasma on Iraq’s black market
For five days, Qusay al-Zaidi searched for a recovered coronavirus patient to give him plasma for use in the treatment of his relatives who had contracted the virus. He expected to get it from a volunteer free of charge, but this was not the case.
“The recovered patient asked for $1,500 per liter and refused to negotiate the price,” he told Al-Monitor.
By John Lee.
With a 600 per cent rise in COVID-19 cases in Iraq through June, efforts must be re-doubled to slow the spread of the disease, warns the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
With the number of confirmed cases standing at 53,708 on July 1 – up from 6,868 on June 1 – the Ministry of Health has announced that hospitals are almost at full capacity, and that schools and universities will be converted into isolation units to cope with the ever-increasing number of cases.
In addition to the direct impact the pandemic is having on people’s health, thousands of people have been affected indirectly by the economic impacts of the lockdown.
(Source: IRC)
By Al-Monitor staff. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraq returns to lockdown after surge in coronavirus cases
A Turkish military jet delivered coronavirus-related aid to Iraq on Wednesday.
The assistance comes as Turkey continues its war against Kurdish militants in the country, despite opposition from Baghdad.
The Government of Finland has committed €2 million (US$2.2 million) to support the Government of Iraq’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq.
The funds will be used to support UNDP Iraq’s COVID-19 response package, which is being implemented under the umbrella of UNDP Iraq’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), established to repair critical infrastructure and services damaged by ISIL.
Measures to combat the virus under the COVID-19 response package include increasing the testing capacity of laboratories, providing personal protective equipment to healthcare workers, increasing the number of isolation wards, and undertaking assessments to establish post-COVID-19 recovery strategies.
Focusing on the most vulnerable communities in Iraq, activities will be rolled out in hospitals selected by local authorities in the underserved areas of Anbar, Basra, Diyala, Dohuk, Karbala, Kirkuk, Najaf, Ninewa and Salah Al-Din.
UNDP Iraq’s Resident Representative, Zena Ali Ahmad, said:
“While the entire country is impacted by the emergence of COVID-19, it’s the vulnerable communities – including displaced communities, people living with a disability, women, and the elderly – who will carry most of the burden. We’re extremely grateful for Finland’s support which will help us target these vulnerable communities.”
Finland’s Ambassador to Iraq Mr. Vesa Häkkinen (pictured), added:
“Iraq is facing a multitude of challenges as it recovers from a long conflict. Finland wants to support the stability of Iraq and to strengthen its preparedness and response to COVID-19 emergency. UNDP is in the frontline supporting Iraq’s national healthcare system in tackling the outbreak.”
Finland is one of UNDP Iraq’s key partners, providing more than $12.1 million to UNDP Iraq’s FFS since 2015.
(Sources: Reliefweb, Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs)
By Al-Monitor staff. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Survey: Displaced Iraqis experiencing job losses, food shortages amid pandemic
The majority of displaced Iraqis have experienced job losses, food shortages and more during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent survey by humanitarian organizations working in the country.
New report from FAO, IFAD, WFP and the World Bank reveals complex impact of COVID-19 on food security in Iraq
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Bank have collected and analyzed new data on the impact of the crisis on food security, and made corresponding joint recommendations in the first report of a new regular series, “The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security in Iraq.”
Many people have been unable to work during the current crisis. Around 4.8 million people (12% of the total population) are using negative coping strategies to meet their food needs, and a large stimulus package will be required to re-start the economy, beyond the current measures to mitigate the impact on households and businesses.
On the other hand, food availability has been stable overall, with above-average cereal production in the 2019/2020 season, and the government of Iraq taking a proactive role to keep the food system open despite lockdowns. Food imports have continued, with global trade largely uninterrupted.
Humanitarian, social protection and development responses have stepped up, both from the government (such as “Minha” – “Grant”) and supporting partners. However, global trends have had a cascading impact on Iraq. The fall in oil prices and the slow recovery of the global oil market have had negative implications for the domestic budget, and may affect the government’s ability to continue to fund social protection programmes and agriculture subsidies.
With assistance from Food Security Cluster partners and the Cash Consortium of Iraq, FAO, IFAD, WFP and the World Bank analyzed food availability and access, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations, and jointly made policy recommendations.
“With initiatives to work towards a regional trade integration framework, create an enabling environment for increasing domestic production, invest in productive infrastructure, enhance social protection and monitor food security, vulnerable households can continue to have access to nutritious food. All possible efforts will be made to support the government of Iraq and implement the proposed recommendations,” said FAO Representative in Iraq Dr Salah El Hajj Hassan, IFAD Representative for Iraq Tarek Ahmed, WFP Iraq Representative Abdirahman Meygag, and World Bank Iraq Representative Ramzi Neman, in a joint statement.
The new publication builds on the partners’ weekly reports on COVID-19 and food security, which launched in April and continue to be released.
Download a copy of the new report at: https://bit.ly/2VDbH3a
(Source: UN)