The European Commission has allocated €140 million to purchase medical devices and medical personnel equipment in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

The commission will also redirect the use of existing instruments worth €700 million to help mitigate the economic and social impact of coronavirus in the Eastern Partnership countries. 

An official statement reads that the European Commission will respond to immediate needs by supporting the supply of medical devices and personal equipment, such as ventilators, laboratory kits, masks, goggles, gowns, and safety suits in the EaP countries. 

The European Commission is working with the World Health Organisation, and is deploying €30 million to ensure these necessary supplies are jointly purchased and effectively distributed to the health systems of the six countries in the coming weeks. In addition, the funds will support national health administrations to train medical and laboratory staff and carry out awareness raising measures to the wider population.

According to the statement the commission has also made available more than €11.3 million in small grants to civil society organizations. These funds are already responding to immediate needs, through the ongoing regional “Rapid Response Mechanism”, such as supporting local schools with distance learning.