The Aga Khan Foundation on Tuesday provided medical-surgical and laboratory equipment to combat Covid-19 in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, valued at about three million meticais (€40,000), funded by the government of Canada.

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The material donated by the foundation consists, among others, of masks, mattresses, gloves, hygiene material and sample collection, according to Rahim Bangy, regional director of Aga Khan, who was speaking during the ceremony to hand over the donation.

“We believe that this delivery will strengthen the health system here in Cabo Delgado province. At a time when we are going through the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, this delivery is essential. It is important that we all continue to work together,” said Rahim Bangy.

The donation will contribute to reinforce the needs of the province’s districts to fight the new coronavirus, which forced a greater demand for medical material.

“We have 17 districts and at this moment we have big challenges. We have been met by Covid-19 and our demand for consumption of this material is much higher than what we are used to,” said Anastacia Lidimba, director of the provincial health services.

The Aga Khan Foundation has been in Mozambique since 2001, developing and supporting initiatives in sectors such as agriculture and food security, health, nutrition and education.

Mozambique is experiencing a rapid increase in the number of cases, deaths and hospitalisations due to the third wave of the disease in the country, a situation that is putting pressure on the health system, leading the authorities to warn of possible exhaustion of hospitalisation capacity.

In July, when the third wave of the new coronavirus was declared, Mozambique registered 556 deaths, 45,624 new cases and 1,953 hospitalisations.

Since the disease was declared in Mozambique in March 2020, the country has recorded 1.500 deaths and 126.391 cases, of which 76.3% are accounted recovered. By Tuesday,  507 persons were hospitalised.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 4,234,618 deaths worldwide, among more than 198.8 million cases of infection by the new coronavirus, according to the most recent assessment by the agency France-Presse.

Source: Lusa