UNICEF assists 700 special needs individuals

Youth Minister Ahmed Mahloof, on Monday, announced the UNICEF, in collaboration with the Gender Ministry and Youth Ministry, had launched an initiative to assist some 700 special needs individuals in Maldives amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

At a National Emergency Operations Center press briefing this afternoon, Mahloof said UNICEF, Gender Ministry and Youth Ministry were collaborating on a project to supply food to families with special needs individuals.

“We are also working on delivering these 700 packs. We have already delivered half,” said Mahloof.

Youth Ministry’s volunteers had also recently worked on delivering dates donated by the Saudi Arabian government to 436 households registered as poor in the Greater Male’ Region.

Mahloof said on Monday that the volunteers had delivered dates to all households which they had been able to reach to via telephone.

Male’ city had identified its first virus case on April 15, prompting a lockdown on the Greater Male’ Region which is keeping roughly one-third of the Maldivian population indoors. The lockdown had overwhelmed local grocery stores which did not have the manpower to deliver foods and other essentials to all residents in the capital, leading to the Youth Ministry calling for volunteers to assist in deliveries. Over 500 had volunteered their services.