* Essential medicines, surgery supplies, Covid-19 testing kits and more will be distributed to 280 health facilities and 31 labs across Afghanistan: WHO chief
* Qatar's financial contributions and assistance to support Afghanistan to reach $50mn
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its chief have thanked Qatar for facilitating the delivery of critical health supplies to Kabul, Afghanistan.
"We thank the government of the State of Qatar for its generous support. The shipment is among the 1st humanitarian aid to arrive at Kabul airport since 15 August. It will help WHO replenish depleted medical stocks and respond to urgent health needs in Afghanistan," the organisation said in a tweet.
It was referring to the arrival of a Qatar Airways flight, carrying around 23 metric tonnes of life-saving medicines and supplies from WHO, in Kabul on Monday.Thank you #Qatar ???? for facilitating this delivery of critical @WHO health supplies to Kabul, #Afghanistan.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) September 13, 2021
The essential medicines, surgery supplies, #COVID19 testing kits and more will be distributed to 280 health facilities & 31 labs across the country.#InvestinHumanity https://t.co/xnaWRk2BWO
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation also thanked for the initiative.
"Thank you Qatar for facilitating this delivery of critical WHO health supplies to Kabul, Afghanistan. The essential medicines, surgery supplies, Covid-19 testing kits and more will be distributed to 280 health facilities and 31 labs across the country," he tweeted.
On Monday, HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi had said Qatar provided last week about 188 tonnes of urgent food and medical aid, adding that the country's financial contributions and assistance to support Afghanistan will reach $50mn. He said that Qatar, stemming from its humanitarian duty, hastened to support the evacuation of tens of thousands of foreign and Afghan nationals, and provided temporary housing, meals, healthcare and Covid-19 vaccines.
He made the statement while addressing the High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan, during which Qatar reiterated its solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and its continuous support till they achieved their legitimate demands for stability, security, peace and development.
HE al-Muraikhi stressed the importance of uniting efforts to protect civilians, provide safe corridors and ensure freedom of movement and access for humanitarian aid, and underlined the need to achieve national reconciliation and preserve the gains made by the Afghan people, in addition to ensuring the fight against terrorism and that Afghanistan would not be a factor of instability in the region in the future.
