The United Nations system has trained about 174 Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) operators across the country on the production of COVID-19 containment materials to meet the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The three-year programme funded by the European Union (EU) through the UN COVID-19 intervention fund, was implemented by four UN agencies namely United Nations International Development Organisation (UNIDO), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN Women.
In the project tagged ‘Strengthening the Capacity of Local Medium Small and Micro Enterprise (MSMEs), the manufacturers will produce high quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and healthcare-related project is aimed at curtailing the importation of medical items during emergencies.
UNIDO Regional Director and representative to ECOWAS, Jean Bakole, while speaking yesterday at the wrap-up awareness dissemination event in Abuja, stated that UNIDO was partnering WHO, ILO and UN Women to formulate the PPE project to address the demand for imported healthcare products.
UN Resident Coordinator, Matthias Schmale, expressed delight that in the spirit of One-UN, four UN agencies were coming together to synergise in creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.
