COVID-19: WHO donates medical supplies across Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent a total of one million medical supplies across Africa to help nations in the continent battle the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

The cargo contains face masks, goggles, gloves, gowns and other protective gear for health workers, as well as ventilators for patients, says WFP.

The first beneficiaries of the supplies include Djibouti, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Tanzania.

It will also move from those hubs to "as many countries as possible", Reuters news agency quotes WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs as saying.

The Director of Africa Centre for Disease Contol John Nkengasong said that "the medical supplies are timely as the continent still has a window of opportunity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic."

The cargo was brought in by Ethiopian Airlines, which has suffered from a huge fall in passenger numbers, according to the BBC.

#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.

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— World Food Programme (@WFP) April 14, 2020