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Rabat – The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a statement expressing appreciation for Morocco’s initiative to grant medical supplies to 15 African countries to aid in their COVID-19 response under the high instructions of King Mohammed VI.
WHO commended the monarch’s generosity to support Morocco’s African allies in their fight against the pandemic.
The statement quoted by Morocco’s state media on June 20 says the grant is a “genuine and tangible manifestation of regional solidarity, which is part of the global solidarity that WHO has consistently called for.”
WHO addressed the message to Morocco’s mission in Geneva, saying, “In the global fight against this common threat, we need each other.”
Each of Morocco’s medical shipments includes nearly eight million masks, 900,000 visors, 600,000 hygiene caps, 60,000 gowns, and 30,000 liters of hydroalcoholic gel, along with 75,000 boxes of chloroquine and 15,000 boxes of Azithromycin.
Several countries have already received the aid and thanked Morocco for its solidarity and commitment to the continent.
The countries included in the aid initiative are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Chad, and Zambia.
Mauritania was the first to receive its shipment, and the King’s June 11 order to support its southern neighbor preceded the 15-state initiative announced on June 14. Angola also received aid from Morocco on June 20 despite not being included in the initial list of beneficiaries.
The medical supplies are part of King Mohammed VI’s call for a pan-African response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The monarch announced the “African Heads of State” initiative on April 13 during phone calls with the President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and the President of Senegal, Macky Sall.
During the conversations, King Mohammed VI proposed the establishment of an operational framework to accompany African countries in the various phases of the management of the pandemic.
The Permanent Ambassador of Morocco to the African Union (AU), Mohamed Arrouchi, echoed this call on June 11. He proposed the creation of a platform of African epidemic experts to help states manage health crises and strengthen continental support for governments combating diseases and epidemics, including COVID-19.
