As India battles a crippling surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths, the United Nations has offered the assistance of its integrated supply chain and is “willing to help’ in whatever way it can, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
UN authorities remain in touch with officials in India over the situation in the country, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN chief said.
“We’ve been in touch at various levels. I know that our Chef de Cabinet was recently in touch with the Permanent Representative of India here, and other officials in the system have also been in touch with officials both here in New York and on the ground,” Haq said.
Chef de Cabinet to the United Nations Secretary-General Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has been in touch with India’s Permanent Representative to the UN T S Tirumurti over the COVID-19 situation in India.
Haq said among the things the UN did is “we offered the assistance of our integrated supply chain if it was required. We’ve been told at this point that it’s not needed because India has a reasonably robust system to deal with this. But our offer stands, and we’re willing to help in whatever way we can.”
Haq added that the UN is also making sure that its own staff, whether international or national, in India are taken care of so that they don’t place a burden on the healthcare system of India.
“And luckily, we’ve maintained a very low level of cases. So, we’ve, I think, been succeeding at trying to do that and making sure that we’re not pressuring a healthcare system that already is facing extreme challenges.”
On whether any shipments of essential materials from UN agencies are expected to reach India amid the crisis, Haq said “none have been sought so far, but like I said, we do have people, including our people who deal with operational and logistical issues who are willing to help, if we’re needed, and we’re in touch with our counterparts in India to see whether that will be useful.”
