KOICA Supports Mozambique with 3,000 COVID-19 Transport Medium Kits

Donation of 100,000 Masks for Medical Staff

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) held a handover ceremony on the 16th (local time) at the Ministry of Health of Mozambique, together with the Mozambique KOICA Trainees Alumni Association and the international relief and development NGO Good Neighbors, donating 3,000 domestically produced virus specimen collection and transport media kits for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and 100,000 masks for medical personnel to the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health (INS) of Mozambique.

Attending the ceremony from the Korean side were Ambassador to Mozambique Women Jun, KOICA Mozambique Office Director Jeong Young-sun, and representatives from Good Neighbors Mozambique. From the Mozambique side were Armindo Tiago, Minister of Health, the Director of the National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health staff, and the president of the trainees alumni association.

Since the first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 22, the Mozambique government declared a national state of emergency on March 30 to prevent regional spread and has been implementing suspension of international passenger flights and movement restrictions until June 30. As of June 16, there have been a total of 638 confirmed cases and 4 deaths, indicating the country is entering a full-scale COVID-19 spread phase.

Mozambique, which had been experiencing a shortage of diagnostic kits since the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, requested specimen collection kit support from the Korean Embassy through the National Institute of Health (INS), the official local COVID-19 testing agency. Subsequently, KOICA decided to support 3,000 high-quality specimen collection and transport media kits produced domestically in cooperation with the trainees alumni association.

Good Neighbors, KOICA’s project partner, also decided to donate 100,000 masks nationwide to medical personnel through the Mozambique Ministry of Health to support healthcare sites struggling with inadequate protective equipment since the early stages of the infectious disease outbreak.

Ambassador Women Jun said, “Following Korea’s support of COVID-19 diagnostic kits last month, it is meaningful that government agencies and civil society are cooperating to provide COVID-19 response supplies,” adding, “Additionally, the Korean government plans to provide diagnostic kits worth $300,000 and 100,000 masks to the people of Mozambique in cooperation with WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

Armindo Tiago, Minister of Health of Mozambique, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Mozambique government and health officials, saying, “After support through Korean companies in May, KOICA and Good Neighbors have once again supported Mozambique’s COVID-19 response by providing specimen collection kits and medical masks. The Ministry of Health will continue efforts to enhance transparency and monitor the proper use of the donated supplies.”

Jeong Young-sun, KOICA Mozambique Office Director, said, “As Korea’s representative development cooperation agency, KOICA has supported Mozambique with a total of $32 million until 2019. We hope the supplies provided this time will help the people of Mozambique struggling with COVID-19, and we will strengthen support in the health sector going forward.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.