Maldives has received a consignment of medical equipment donated by the government of the United States of America.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that the donated medical equipment is worth USD 124,671 and comes in a bid to assist the Maldives in battling the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The medical equipment was handed over by the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy Martin Kelly during a virtual ceremony held on Friday afternoon.

Maldives Foreign Secretary, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed received the donation.

With an aim to increase Maldives capacity and enhance the health sector’s readiness to support Covid-19 response and recovery efforts, the generous donation was facilitated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The ministry highlighted that the critical aid would not only aid the efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 but also plays a major role to ensure the safety of healthcare workers and frontliners in the Covid-19 battle.

Speaking at the virtual handover ceremony, Foreign Secretary Ghafoor noted that the U.S. has also proven itself as a close and reliable ally specifically during such challenging times of crisis.

At a time the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden has included Maldives among the first countries to receive vaccines under the U.S. Global Covid Vaccine Sharing strategy, the foreign secretary has expressed gratitude to the government as well as Secretary of State, Antony Blinken for the “continuous” and “unwavering” support extended to the Maldives.

He went on to note that the Maldives capacity to combat the pandemic and address long-term goals revolving around reviving the economy have been increased due to such generous assistance and friendship maintained by close partners.

USAID Mission Director, Reed Aeschliman, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Shah Abdulla Mahir, Multilateral Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Hala Hameed, and senior officials from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the virtual ceremony as well.

Also speaking at the event, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy, Kelly reaffirmed America’s commitment to continue working together to enhance the “dynamic” ties with Maldives in the future.

Similarly, the USAID Mission Director also reaffirmed commitment to enhance the partnership between both countries in fighting the pandemic and other development challenges.

So far, the U.S. has contributed over USD 9.1 million to the island nation’s Covid-19 response and recovery efforts including a grant aid of USD two million.

Further, America has also donated through multilateral agencies such as IAEA and UNICEF, as well as PPE, a PCR machine and ventilators.