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WATCH | COVID-19: UN Solidarity flight arrives in Maputo – WHO
3:24 CAT | 19 Apr 2020
Photo: Twitter / @WHOAFRO
The World Health Organisation, along with the UN and the World Food Programme, will be sending large quantities of face masks, gloves, goggles and other medical supplies, including ventilators, to Africa.
According to the WHO, personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided to the thousands of health workers on the continent who are treating more than 30 000 patients.
The WHO confirmed on social media a Solidarity Flight “arrived in Maputo, Mozambique [on Friday evening, 17 April 2020] carrying vital equipment for health workers to fight COVID-19.” The donation by WHO and partners includes 40,000 surgical masks, 8,500 surgical gloves & 900 face shields to protect those at the front lines.
The ‘Solidarity Flight’ arrived in Maputo, Mozambique🇲🇿 last night carrying vital equipment for health workers to fight #COVID19. The donation by @WHO & partners includes 40,000 surgical masks, 8,500 surgical gloves & 900 face shields to protect those at the front lines. pic.twitter.com/tK9v1xHaFr
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) April 18, 2020
The Solidarity Flight is part of a larger effort to ship lifesaving medical supplies to 95 countries. I would like to thank the African Union, the governments of UAE and Ethiopia, the Jack Ma Foundation and all our partners for their solidarity with African countries at this critical moment in history.”
The first flight was scheduled to leave Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and will distribute supplies to Djibouti, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Tanzania. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, explained:
“The Solidarity Flight is part of a larger effort to ship lifesaving medical supplies to 95 countries. I would like to thank the African Union, the governments of UAE and Ethiopia, the Jack Ma Foundation and all our partners for their solidarity with African countries at this critical moment in history.”
Malawi
A flight also departed for Malawi and landed on Friday, 17 April, carrying face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, extraction kits, thermometers and ventilators.
Urgent call to action
David Beasley, the Executive Director for the UN World Food Programme (WFP), said earlier this week that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world, and Africa, by storm. He added:
“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. Our air bridges need to be fully funded to do this, and we stand ready to transport frontline health and humanitarian workers as well as medical cargo”.
He also said on social media that the “plans are in place”, and added that “we can turn the tide on this virus” and urged everyone to “act now, together, without a moment to spare”.
#COVID19 First UN solidarity flight carrying vital medical supplies to African nations departs 📍Addis Ababa.
The @WHO cargo transported by WFP includes face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, medical aprons, thermometers and ventilators.
— World Food Programme (@WFP) April 14, 2020
Global Humanitarian Response Plan for Africa
Heeding the WFP and UN’s call, 18 African and European leaders have signed a collective article to take urgent action and defeat COVID-19 in Africa, as reported by the Financial Times:
“We must answer the UN Secretary-General’s call for an ambitious humanitarian initiate for Africa, based on the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, and deliver vital foods and logistical supplies to communities most affected by lockdowns, social distancing and high contamination rates”.
First UN solidarity flight departs Addis Ababa carrying vital COVID-19 medical supplies to all African nations
Joint AU-WFP-WHO News Release
14 April 2020 Joint News Release Rome/Geneva
The first United Nations “Solidarity Flight” was scheduled to leave Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday – from there, the aircraft will transport the vital medical cargo to all countries in Africa, where supplies are desperately needed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
WHO cargo is being transported by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and includes face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, medical aprons and thermometers, as well as ventilators.
The cargo also includes a large quantity of medical supplies donated by the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Jack Ma Foundation Initiative to reverse COVID-19 in Africa. The African Union, through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is providing technical support and coordination 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 frontline health and humanitarian workers as well as medical cargo,” he added.
“The Solidarity Flight is part of a larger effort to ship lifesaving medical supplies to 95 countries,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “I would like thank the African Union, the governments of UAE and Ethiopia, the Jack Ma Foundation and all our partners for their solidarity with African countries at this critical moment in history.”
Very glad to share this news: today, the 1st @UN solidarity flight departs Addis Ababa, 🇪🇹 carrying vital #COVID19 medical supplies to all African nations.
The Solidarity Flight is part of a larger effort to ship lifesaving medical supplies to 95 countries https://t.co/IRPiOP4fg6 pic.twitter.com/1hTD1XBOjh— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 14, 2020
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.
“The African Union values the efforts of our partners – the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the Jack Ma Foundation/Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – in supporting the African continental strategy for COVID-19 response. The medical supplies are much needed at this critical time that medical commodities are in short supply worldwide,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. “The African Union will continue to provide the coordination needed as well as resources to ensure that our Member States are able to meet the need for healthcare services during this pandemic,” he added.
“We have seen time and again our health workers fall victim to infectious diseases as they work in hospitals and sometimes pass away,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “This is unacceptable. This personal protective equipment will help keep them safe. WHO is committed to protecting those on the front-lines of health care.”
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.
“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. This is by far the largest single shipment of supplies since the start of the pandemic, and will ensure that people living in countries with some of the weakest heaths systems are able to get test and treated, while ensuring that health workers on the frontlines are properly protected,” said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
The WFP and WHO extend thanks to the Government of Ethiopia, which helped WFP set up the Addis Ababa Humanitarian Air Hub this week, to help transport protective equipment, medical supplies and humanitarian workers across Africa for the COVID-19 response, as well as ensuring medical evacuations for humanitarian responders.
A team of 25 WFP aviation and logistics staff is based at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, managing the 24-hour operation. They manage warehouse space for dry bulk, temperature-controlled and cold storage cargo and its onward transport by air. WFP also provides dedicated cargo tracking, warehouse management and customer service to countries across Africa in collaboration with the Africa CDC.
“The medical supplies are timely as the continent still has a window of opportunity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Collective and fast actions as exemplified by the Solidarity Flight are therefore critical,” said John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC.
As part of a global appeal to raise a US$2 billion for the COVID-19 response, launched by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 25 March, WFP is calling for US$350 million to establish vital humanitarian hubs around the world to facilitate the storage and dispatch of essential medical cargo, set up air transport links for cargo and personnel, contract charter vessels for shipping services, and provide passenger air and Medevac services for humanitarian and health workers. This includes such Solidary Flights through Addis Ababa. Currently, WFP has received only 24% (US$84 million) of the US$350 million it requires to provide these vital common services to the global humanitarian community.
About WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Learn more at www.wfp.org.
About WHO
WHO is the United Nations’ specialized agency for health. It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its Member States usually through the Ministries of Health. The WHO is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. Learn more at www.who.int.
About Africa CDC
Africa CDC is a specialised technical institution of the African Union which supports Member States in their efforts to strengthen health systems and improve surveillance, emergency response, prevention and control of diseases. For more information. Learn more at: https://africacdc.org/.
Source: The South African / Joint AU-WFP-WHO News Release
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