BREST, 4 May (BelTA) – The Cross-Border Cooperation Program Poland-Belarus-Ukraine for 2014-2020, financed by the EU, will allocate funds to institutions of the three countries to help combat COVID-19, BelTA learned from the program's office in Belarus.
The Joint Monitoring Committee of the Program approved an additional €3 million to finance projects in the healthcare sector. Hospitals and social service centers will receive support to combat coronavirus infection. Participants in 12 cross-border projects will use the funds to purchase additional equipment or carry out activities to better respond to the crisis situation.
Belarus is represented by eight beneficiaries. Additional support will go to Brest Oblast Hospital and Brest Oblast Children's Hospital, Zhabinka Central Hospital, the Department of Education of the Leninsky District Administration of Brest. The funds will be provided for Minsk Oblast Maternity Hospital and Minsk Oblast Hospital, the university clinic and the emergency hospital in Grodno.
Thirty partner organizations from the three countries are implementing healthcare projects under the current Cross-Border Cooperation Program. They have already gained access to a total amount of some €24 million from EU funds. “This money is earmarked to epidemiological safety activities, maternal and child healthcare, cancer control, intensive care and other needs. The additional €3 million will increase the efficiency of medical staff, help purchase necessary equipment, carry out new tests for coronavirus, and provide an opportunity to cooperate remotely across borders,” representatives of the program's office stressed.
The Cross-Border Cooperation Program Poland-Belarus-Ukraine has been supporting the safety of residents of the border regions of the three countries for over 15 years. Healthcare is one of the priorities of the program.
