Medical equipment supplies for Africa
THE first UN “Solidarity Flight” has left Ethiopia to transport medical cargo to all the countries in Africa where supplies are desperately needed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) cargo is being transported by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and includes face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, medical aprons and thermometers, as well as ventilators.
The cargo includes a large quantity of medical supplies donated by the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, and the Jack Ma Foundation Initiative to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Africa.
The AU, through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), is providing technical support and co-ordination for the distribution of the supplies.
“Commercial flights are grounded and medical cargo is stuck. We can stop this virus in its tracks, but we’ve got to work together. WFP is committed to getting vital medical supplies to front lines and shielding medical workers as they save lives,” said David Beasley, WFP’s executive director.
“Our air bridges need to be fully funded to do this and we stand ready to transport front line health and humanitarian workers as well as medical cargo,” he added.
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Solidarity Flight is part of a larger effort to ship life-saving medical supplies to 95 countries.
The crucial WHO cargo includes one million face masks, as well as personal protective equipment, which will be enough to protect health workers while treating more than 30 000 patients across the continent and laboratory supplies to support surveillance and detection.
AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the medical supplies were much needed. “The African Union will continue to provide the co-ordination needed as well as resources to ensure our member states are able to meet the need for healthcare services during this pandemic.”
WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai, staffed by a team of seven, has been working around the clock to dispatch over 130 shipments of PPE and laboratory supplies to 95 countries across all six WHO regions.
Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Eastern Mediterranean director, said: “Thanks to the government of the United Arab Emirates for its generous support of this operation, WHO’s regional logistics hub in Dubai has played a key role in making sure these supplies are prepared and shipped to where they are most needed.”