Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Health send humanitarian aid to Tunisia to fight against Covid19

This shipment, managed by AECID, consists of 100,000 antigen tests, 15 transport and emergency respirators and 50,000 FFP2 masks donated by the Ministry for Health, and 122 oxygen concentrators donated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. It is designed to combat the effects of the Covid19 pandemic, which is hitting the North African country hard.

A second flight is scheduled to leave in two to three weeks with more medical supplies donated by AECID, which will also be managed by the Agency. This second shipment will contain 24,000 PCR tests, 5 oxygen concentrators, 2 ventilators for ICU use, 8 multi-parametric vital signs monitors and 8 infusion pumps, all of which are essential for the fight against Covid19. Together, this humanitarian action is worth approximately 1.1 million euros, with approximately 655,000 euros in material donated by the Ministry for Health and approximately 450,000 euros donated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In total, it involves some 6 tonnes of medical supplies.

The emergency operation is part of Team Europe's response to the Tunisian authorities' recent call for international assistance. The cost of transport is co-financed by the European Union's Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).

Aggravation of the situation

Tunisia has become the country with the highest coronavirus mortality in Africa today. According to data provided by Johns Hopkins University, the country has a rate of 142 Covid19 deaths per 100,000 population, with a two-week cumulative incidence of more than 800 cases per 100,000 population and an already fragile health system overwhelmed by the growing number of patients in need of care.

Non official translation