Somalia receives medical aid from Turkey to tackle the Corona virus

By:Hassan Jama Horndiplomat regional contributor

Turkish-made ventilators produced with technological advances will be breath of life for our Somali brothers, says president

The Minister of Health and Social Care of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Dr Fawziya Abikar Nur, on Saturday received a shipment of medical aid from the sisterly Republic of Turkey to confront the epidemic of the Coronavirus and contain it from its spread.

The Turkish ambassador to Somalia, Mr Mehmet Yılmaz, delivered the medical aid which included preventive and curative medical supplies, including masks, protective gloves, hand sanitizers, protective uniforms for medical professionals and test kits, in addition to a number of ventilators that the intensive care unit of De Martino Hospital in Mogadishu was in urgent need.

A plane load of medical supplies from Turkey arrives at Mogadishu airport on Saturday. Supplies include face masks, gloves, sanitizers, protective uniforms, testing kits and ventilators. The embassy of Turkey announced that a second plane plane carrying ICU beds will arrive May 5 pic.twitter.com/E8hOjR7SVj

— Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) May 2, 2020

Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Ahmed Isse Awad, thanked the government and people of Turkey for their support and standing beside Somalia, valuing its role in the great humanitarian work in the world at a time when most countries are facing the epidemic of the deadly Coronavirus.

Turkish medical aid bearing the slogan “There is hope after despair and many suns after darkness” is the second of its kind in two weeks to reach Somalia, where it is expected to arrive in the capital Mogadishu within days of a large plane carrying hospital beds.
Turkey provided medical assistance to 33 countries on military cargo aircraft to counter the infectious Coronavirus.

Since March 16, Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Social Care has recorded 601 people infected with the Coronavirus, including 31 recoveries and 28 deaths.

The reception of the Turkish medical aid shipment was attended by Somalia’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mr Hamza Said Hamza, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,  Amb. Mohamed Ali-Nur Haji.