Dubai extends a helping hand to Somaliland in the fight against COVID-19 through DP World

DP World uses its global trade and logistics expertise to support Somaliland

Urgent shipments sent to the country include ventilators, protective equipment and medicines

The port has also initiated a project to produce personal face masks locally

Dubai is extending a helping hand to Somaliland in the fight against COVID-19 through DP World, the leading global provider of smart logistics solutions. DP World has started sending medical supplies to Somaliland to help its people in the fight against the novel Coronavirus pandemic. Somaliland’s National Committee for Preparedness and Prevention of COVID-19 will receive the supplies at the country’s modern logistics hub, DP World Berbera.

A collaborative campaign by DP World’s headquarters in Dubai and the management of DP World Berbera is underway, to bring the supplies that include ventilators for life support, intubation kits and significant quantities of personal protective equipment for doctors, nurses, first responders and other emergency staff.

They also include protective gloves, medical masks, face shields, and gowns. The supplies are sourced from various countries including the UAE and will reach Somaliland in multiple shipments by sea and airfreight.

In addition, the shipments include large quantities of vital medicines. Although there is no specific treatment for the virus to date, doctors everywhere are working tirelessly to alleviate symptoms and ease complications.

The shipments also include 5,000 rapid COVID-19 testing kits. Testing is critical to understand and control the spread of the disease, and medical technicians have already been sent to Kenya for professional training in effective diagnosis techniques. Somaliland has offered to assist its neighbours in Somalia and Yemen with checks for the deadly virus once the testing procedures are operational.

Supachai Wattanaveerachai, CEO OF DP World Berbera, said: “Although there are still only a few confirmed cases in Somaliland to-date, we have seen the devastating effect of the virus in other countries around the world. Given this threat, we felt it is important to support the government and be able to test suspected cases of the virus inside the country. With the outstanding support from our team in Dubai, we have successfully shipped bulk medical supplies, and protective and testing equipment to distribute in Somaliland.”

In order to overcome the high costs of imported masks, DP World Berbera came up with an innovative plan. Wattanaveerachai continued: “There is a shortage of protective masks in Berbera, so we took the opportunity to work with the Mayor and Governor of Berbera to have local people produce homemade masks. We wanted to unleash the outstanding innovative and commercial potential in the community in Somaliland, to help address the issues of high cost and limited supply of masks.”

The DP World Berbera team has been constantly reinforcing health messages to its own staff, families and stakeholders, in line with the latest guidance from the World Health Organisation, and sent out a clear message that Social Distancing is a critical demand and not an option for our community to remain safe.