GIZ is providing support in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic

To help stop the spread of the coronavirus, GIZ is developing new ideas and refocusing existing projects. It is taking a wide variety of approaches.

On behalf of the German Government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is providing support in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Here is an overview of current measures in GIZ’s countries of assignment.

Assuring the quality of imported respirator masks

Germany urgently requires protective equipment such as respirator masks to contain the pandemic. Most of these are imported, with a quarter of the world’s masks produced in China. To acquire masks more quickly, the German authorities are temporarily accepting foreign safety certificates. But how can they ensure that the imported masks actually meet EU standards and that the Chinese certificates are genuine? On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), GIZ has been working in China and other countries since 2014 to improve the safety and quality of traded products. During the current pandemic, the company and its Chinese partners are carrying out checks for authorities from across Germany to determine whether the respirators on offer function as promised. Using guidelines it has drawn up, GIZ checks whether the inspection reports contain all the required information and whether the assessments are entered in the Chinese databases. The Chinese authorities then verify that the certificates are genuine.

Following a pilot phase with authorities in Lower Saxony, the service was rolled out across Germany in mid-April.

Protecting displaced persons

In Northern Iraq, more than 370,000 internally displaced persons and 83,000 Syrians who have fled the IS regime of terror live in the governorate of Duhok alone. Duhok and other host communities are at particular risk from the coronavirus pandemic. In response, GIZ has acted quickly to expand its continuing training provision. Working with the Italian NGO AISPO, it has provided wide-ranging training for almost 900 doctors, nurses and other hospital staff as of mid-April. One area of focus is on preventing infection, while another is on nursing, treating and, where necessary, ventilating those with the virus. On behalf of BMZ, GIZ has been supporting the regional government since 2016 in developing the region’s water supply and education and health systems.

Working together

In Georgia, GIZ has worked on behalf of the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to equip a start-up business with 12 additional sewing machines. Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development itself provided a further 32 machines. This has enabled the business to increase production, and it is now manufacturing several thousand items of protective clothing each day. Of the 70 people it employs, 50 are in newly created jobs.

Original source: GIZ
Published on 22 April 2020