PATH partners with Ukraine to develop a national response to COVID-19
Media contact: Lindsay Bosslet | PATH | media@path.org
Seattle, WA, April 24, 2020 – PATH is partnering with the Ukraine government to develop and implement a comprehensive national response to COVID-19. PATH'S country office program will use the expertise acquired from leading infectious disease surveillance, pandemic flue emergency preparedness, and tuberculosis control in Ukraine since 1994 to address four important areas of the national response.
A primary goal of this partnership is to increase access to quality and timely COVID-19 testing. Essential steps in the strategy towards a national system of routine testing include mapping and strengthening the current capacity of public and private laboratories, improving the logistics of sample transfers, and developing a forecasting tool to ensure laboratory preparedness.
Additionally, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, PATH will work on improving the current system for contact tracing and monitoring of suspected cases and will develop recommendations and guidelines on the investigation, control, and response to cases. PATH will also provide emergency technical assistance to the COVID-19 task force of the Ministry of Health.
PATH and the Ukraine government will also work to ensure that the people responding to the pandemic have access to accurate information and opportunities for training and capacity building. Especially in outbreaks like COVID-19 where a disease is investigated while a national response is implemented, it is important that the people in the frontline have access to up-to-date, factually correct, and practically useful information.
Finally, as COVID-19 is disrupting the supply chain of medical stocks all over the world, PATH will be responsible for responding to the most pressing supply needs for appropriate timely diagnostics, patient care, and protection of healthcare and laboratory workers.
About PATH's global response to COVID-19
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, PATH is partnering with governments to lessen its impact by establishing emergency operations centers; advising on testing, treating, and managing the outbreak; and standing up digital and data systems that support real-time disease surveillance. Click here for more about how we are responding to COVID-19.
About PATH
PATH is a global organization that works to accelerate health equity by bringing together public institutions, businesses, social enterprises, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges. Our team of innovators comprises more than 1,500 employees in offices in 20 countries. With expertise in science, health, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales solutions—including vaccines, drugs, devices, diagnostics, and innovative approaches to strengthening health systems worldwide. We work in more than 70 countries to transform bold ideas into sustainable solutions that improve health and wellbeing for all, reaching over 150 million people, on average, each year.