France provides grant to Sudan to combat COVID-19

A humanitarian plane carrying three tonnes of medical equipment was received by representatives of the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, and ambassadors of France and the EU, at Khartoum International Airport on Friday.

The equipment, which includes face masks, gloves, medical protective clothing, oxygen generators, medical devices, accurate COVID-19 test equipment, tents and medical kits for disposable vaccination centres, was granted to Sudan from France via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM).

The equipment will enable the Sudan’s government to set up mobile centres for COVID-19 vaccination and testing, in order to reach citizens in remote areas and combat the global pandemic.

On June 13, the leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall, UK, agreed to donate one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses collectively to poorer countries over the next year. The United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) welcomed the move but called for a faster timetable, while some critics said the move does not go far enough.

The first batch of 828,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Khartoum airport on March 3, making Sudan the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to receive vaccines via COVAX Facility. COVAX is a coalition co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Global Vaccines Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), that ensures equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to countries regardless of their income.