The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Jack Ma Foundation in China has donated medical supplies worth $700,000 to CARICOM for onward distribution to member states. The shipment was delivered to Barbados where CARICOM headquarters is situated on July 26, 2020.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley thanked WHO and the Jack Ma Foundation for the donation, adding that the supplies will be distributed to 20 countries within the Caribbean Community within two weeks through the Integrated Regional Logistics Hub.
PM Mottley expressed her appreciation to the donors for their constant support during the current COVID-19 pandemic, saying the donors had remained responsive to the plight of Caribbean nations as the region battled the onslaught of the pandemic.
“On every single occasion that we have reached out to the WHO, to PAHO and to CARPHA, I can say without fear of contradiction that they have been there for the Caribbean Community during this pandemic,” said PM Mottley, chairperson of CARICOM. “I want to thank the WHO for being responsive.”
Acting Executive Director of CDEMA, Elizabeth Riley, thanked Mottley for CARICOM leadership, saying she had always cooperated with the agency to facilitate material relief for small Caribbean nations impacted by the coronavirus and other natural disasters.
Riley commended the resilience of regional states in the face of health and environmental hazards as well as their sustained efforts to work together for regional progress and development. It is anticipated that Dominica will receive her share of the supplies when it is distributed in two weeks.
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