Finland responded quickly to the request of Namibia for assistance in getting items needed in the fight against Covid-19 by importing from Europe a total of 2.36 million masks, 200 000 protective visors, 30 000 medical gowns, 100 000 syringes and 189 000 swabs.
The items were received at the Hosea Kutako International Airport by Namibia’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa last week Thursday.
When asked as to why some of the donated items were not bought from Namibia, Mr Matti Karvanen, who is the second in command at the Finnish Embassy in Windhoek, said:
“The urgent request from the Government of Namibia was specifically to deliver material assistance, as there simply is not enough such PPE available in Namibia.
“The Government of Finland donated these items. We were not requested to purchase such materials locally, most likely for the fact that there simply is not enough of such items in the country.”
The European Union through their Civil Protection Mechanism provided the transportation logistics for the delivery of the donated items.
In the photo: A consignment of the donated items upon arrival at the airport.
