Partnership between City Hall and NGO will expand vaccination structure in Portela

Rio's municipal secretary of Government and Public Integrity, Marcelo Calero, and the CEO of the NGO Core (Community Organized Relief Effort), Ann Lee, visited the Portela samba school's court in Oswaldo Cruz on Tuesday morning (27/04). The location will be one of the macro-centers for vaccination against Covid-19 that will receive investments from Core to expand its structure.

During the visit, Calero and Ann Lee discussed the next steps for implementing the partnership. The NGO is expected to begin operating in Rio next weekend, also taking on the logistics of vaccination at the Olympic Park in Barra.

On April 20, the City Hall and the NGO signed a memorandum of understanding on a partnership to strengthen vaccination efforts in the city. This is Core's first initiative to combat Covid-19 outside the US, where the NGO, founded by actor Sean Penn, has helped with mass vaccination.

Initially, the organization will donate R$5 million to combat the novel coronavirus in Rio, supporting the SUS (Unified Health System), reinforcing and setting up vaccination and testing centers and hiring professionals. Another R$5 million is being negotiated to purchase intubation medications, totaling an investment of R$10 million. All equipment acquired through the initiative will be donated to the municipal health network after the partnership ends.

Secretary Marcelo Calero highlighted the importance of a partnership of this magnitude at such a crucial moment, which he described as a “war effort”:

– I am very happy to see Core engaging with us, since it is an expert in emergency aid, with a brilliant humanitarian role in Haiti and in the US vaccination against Covid-19. It is important to highlight that there is no transfer of resources to the City Hall: all will be used directly by Core in its hiring, following the scope of work defined jointly with us. It is a type of partnership that can speed up investments. This is extremely important for an emergency situation, which demands rapid responses – commented Calero.

CEO Ann Lee said Core wants to learn as much as it can from Rio to help other places in Brazil and around the world.

– We want to show that what happens here happens anywhere. And, in this time of pandemic, we need to support each other. Here we have an example of government, NGOs and the community acting together. This is the only way to guarantee vaccination for those who need it most – said Ann Lee, who added in a relaxed tone: – We want to complete the vaccination so that we can enjoy Carnival together.

The deputy mayor of the North Zone, Diego Vaz; the vice-president of Portela, Fábio Pavão; and the director of the Citizenship Department of the samba school, Hellen Mary Costa, were present at the event. Calero also highlighted the significance of this first visit for the joint work with Core at Portela:

– Seeing Portela engaged in this effort, as a place of legacy, partnership, and presence in people’s lives, is fundamental. The school has set an example in the history of our city and, now, it is setting an example in facing this pandemic.

The plan is to create and strengthen five vaccination centers with the NGO's resources, in addition to hiring teams to work at these centers (including health professionals). The locations initially chosen by the Municipal Health Department were the UPA in Manguinhos, the courts of the Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel and Portela samba schools (where a center already operates, but will be expanded and maintained with Core resources), the Vila Olímpica in Complexo do Alemão and the Parque Olímpico (which is currently open, but will be maintained by the NGO from May onwards).

In another stage, there will also be testing centers to increase the detection of infected patients and help combat the disease.

How the partnership was established

At the invitation of the General Coordination of International Relations and Cooperation, Core carried out technical visits to the city between April 13 and 20, to assess the scope of the partnership in the fight against Covid-19 in the municipality. The organization expressed interest in expanding the vaccination campaign and supporting the implementation of mass testing in the city.

The municipal health secretary, Daniel Soranz, and the team from the Emergency Operations Center – COE Covid-19, presented data on the pandemic in the city, the life protection measures established by the City of Rio and the municipal vaccination plan.

Core representatives monitored the City Hall's work in storing and distributing vaccines to vaccination points in the city, as well as in collecting and updating data on the pandemic on the Rio Covid-19 Panel, maintained by the municipality.

The organization also met with the Special Secretary for Youth, Salvino Oliveira, who presented the “Rio against Hunger” food donation campaign. The initiative encourages those who will receive the vaccine to donate one kilo of non-perishable food, distributed to families in situations of food vulnerability in the municipality. As of April 20, more than 20 tons of food had been collected.

The expectation is that support operations will begin in May, accelerating the fight against Covid-19 in the municipality, coinciding with the increase in the number of people in priority groups for immunization.

 

 

About Core

Core is a non-profit organization founded by actor Sean Penn in response to the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The NGO's initiatives aim to build healthier, more resilient and safer communities to mitigate the impacts caused by disasters. The organization works primarily in vulnerable communities, since these are more likely to suffer the impacts of natural disasters.

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization began its work by supporting the city of Los Angeles, in the United States, in carrying out tests to detect the disease. Today, the organization has a robust network of programs adapted to local contexts in response to Covid-19 in the USA.

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• International relations
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April 27th 2021

Appointments: Covid-19 donation NGO the partnership Portela City Hall of Rio