Emirates sends aid to Caribbean islands and Namibia to address COVID-19

The United Arab Emirates sent a relief plane on Thursday with 12.5 metric tons of medical supplies and 500. 000 rapid test kits to 14 Caribbean island states, including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the United Kingdom's overseas territory Montserrat; all in cooperation with Barbados as a distribution centre and through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

These supplies will serve approximately 12,500 medical professionals who are on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.

Badr Abdullah al-Matroushi, UAE Ambassador to Cuba and Non-Resident Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti and St. Kitts and Nevis and representative of the Association of Caribbean States, highlighted the Emirati collaboration with these Caribbean countries: "UAE strongly supports Caribbean governments in their efforts to achieve their national priorities and sustainable development objectives, particularly in ensuring access to modern, sustainable and affordable energy services. The UAE also extends its support to these governments to take urgent action to combat climate change, achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. "The dispatch of medical aid planes to the Caribbean Islands reflects the continued efforts of the UAE to support its fight against the current pandemic by providing the necessary medical supplies to enhance the capacity of medical workers and provide them with adequate protection," Al-Matroushi said in a statement collected by the official Emirate news agency WAM.

Ibrahim Mohamed Juma al-Mansouri, UAE Ambassador to Panama and Non-Resident Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and Barbados, referred to this assistance: "The Emirates is honored to extend assistance to the nations of the Caribbean, where COVID-19 has presented challenges that the region has faced with courage and determination. This assistance will further strengthen the capacity of Caribbean nations to combat the pandemic in the service of their communities.

For her part, Lana Nusseibeh, UAE's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York and non-resident ambassador to Grenada, stressed that "international cooperation is essential to contain the pandemic and boost economic recovery. "We agree with the World Health Organization's assessment that no one is safe until everyone is safe. The United Arab Emirates is committed to working with the international community and Caribbean countries to ensure that life and health are preserved and that tourism, trade and other economic activities can resume safely," he said.

The United Arab Emirates also sent an aid plane carrying 8 metric tons of medical supplies and COVID-19 test kits to Namibia. This equipment will support approximately 8,000 medical professionals as they work to contain the virus.

"UAE continues to support development in African countries and meet their needs to promote UAE's leading humanitarian role in helping friendly countries, especially in times of crisis," said Mahash Saeed al-Hameli, UAE ambassador to South Africa and non-resident ambassador to the Namibian country, who also added that "the medical assistance sent by UAE to Namibia is part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and to provide protection to workers on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19.

To date, the UAE has responded to the coronavirus pandemic by providing more than 1,132 metric tons of aid to 89 countries, supporting more than one million medical professionals in the process.

The UAE has also served aircraft to the UN World Food Programme, which is managing the UN response to COVID-19, and $10 million in test kits to the World Health Organisation. The UAE also hosts the UN's largest supply and logistics centre, located in the International Humanitarian City in Dubai.

These facts continue to demonstrate the leading role the UAE continues to play in international cooperation and humanitarian assistance in these difficult times for the world in the coronavirus health crisis.