Government Expands Humanitarian Support for 'COVID-19'... Additional Diagnostic Kits and Masks Provided to 65 Countries

COVID-19 Global Spread Continues... $21 Million Support Planned for Countries with Weak Health Systems

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government announced on the 4th that amid the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and considering the continuous humanitarian aid requests from the international community, it has secured additional budget beyond the previous $20 million support and plans to provide an additional $21 million in humanitarian aid targeting 65 countries.

President Moon Jae-in announced a plan for 'humanitarian aid worth $100 million related to COVID-19' during his keynote speech at the 73rd World Health Assembly on May 18.

The government plans to support 34 countries mainly in the Middle East and North Africa region with vulnerable health systems such as Yemen, Sudan, and Mozambique, as well as 10 countries in Europe and Central Asia, 12 countries in the Americas, and 9 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. While previous humanitarian aid supplies focused on diagnostic kits, this time masks will also be included. Cooperation with international organizations and regional bodies will be pursued for the transportation of aid supplies.

The number of countries requesting humanitarian aid related to COVID-19 from Korea has reached 110. The government has been providing bilateral support worth $20 million sequentially to 42 countries so far, comprehensively considering the ?damage situation and ?health vulnerabilities of the requesting countries within the scope that does not affect domestic quarantine. These include 15 Asia-Pacific countries such as Indonesia, 4 Europe and Central Asia countries such as Uzbekistan, 10 Americas countries such as Colombia, and 13 Middle East and North Africa countries such as Iran. Considering the domestic supply situation of quarantine supplies at the time of support, diagnostic kits were mainly provided.

The Korean government has provided humanitarian aid to a total of 97 countries (21 in the Asia-Pacific region, 13 in Europe and Central Asia, 21 in the Americas, and 42 in the Middle East and North Africa) related to COVID-19 response and plans to continue humanitarian aid based on ongoing evaluations of COVID-19 trends and the damage situations in each country.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "While thoroughly overcoming COVID-19 domestically, the government aims to contribute to the international community's efforts to overcome the global health crisis based on the spirit of solidarity and cooperation as a leading country in quarantine."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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