KRG, Germany launch program to recruit health volunteers in fight against COVID-19 in Kurdistan
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Thursday, the Kurdistan Region's health and interior ministers announced an initial agreement to launch a German-sponsored program to recruit and train health volunteers across the autonomous region who are taking part in the fight against the coronavirus.
The announcement comes at a time when Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) health officials have been repeatedly warning citizens to follow existing preventive measures and health guidelines as the region witnesses a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases.
Read More: COVID-19: Both Iraq, Kurdistan Region witness new spike during Ramadan
During the press conference in which the memorandum was signed, Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed warned that the threat of coronavirus “still exists.”
The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), a governmental organization that funds programs in over 130 countries worldwide in several fields that include health and education “to achieve sustainable change.”
Hoshang Mohammad, the director of the KRG’s crisis management agency known as the Joint Crisis Center (JCC), told Kurdistan 24, “The program that is funded by GIZ provides human resources to COVID-19 treatment centers across the Kurdistan Region,” adding that the JCC had recruited 210 volunteers “for the health ministry.”
“The volunteers will be tracing and tracking for the COVID-19 infected population across the Kurdistan Region’s four provinces and administrative units,” Health Minister Saman Barzinji told reporters at the press conference. He specified that they will begin their work immediately after the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday and will continue for two months.
On Monday, the KRG Ministry of Interior announced that a complete lockdown would be enforced during the post-Ramadan Eid celebrations to mitigate the further spread of the highly-contagious disease.
Read More: Kurdistan Region announces complete lockdown during Eid al-Fitr celebrations
“The danger of the virus still exists,” Ahmed told reporters, urging residents to strictly follow government health measures until a vaccine is produced and distributed, when “we can declare victory” over the pandemic.
As of Thursday, the total tally of COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region stands at 442, including five deaths, while 383 patients have recovered.
In late April, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Iraq applauded the success of the KRG’s efforts to combat the disease.
“I want to congratulate the Kurdistan Region on their achievement in fighting the coronavirus,” he said. “The rate of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in the region is very low compared to other Iraqi governorates.”
Read More: WHO congratulates Kurdistan Region on coronavirus response
The coronavirus has infected over 5 million people worldwide and killed nearly 330,000, according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.
Editing by John J. Catherine