Turkey delivers Somalia medical aid to tackle virus

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish plane carrying medical aid landed early Monday in the Somalian capital to help the country combat the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"We delivered medical aid supplies to Somalia upon the directives of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the aim of combating the COVID-19 outbreak. A Turkish Armed Forces aircraft which took off last night has landed in Mogadishu," the Defense Ministry said on Twitter.

The aid was received by Somali Foreign Minister Abdulkadir Ahmed Khair and Health Minister Fowziya Abikar.

An A-400M military plane carrying supplies including stretchers, beds and quilts departed from Etimesgut Military Airport in the Turkish capital Ankara.

On Saturday, Turkey also sent a shipment of medical supplies to Somalia, including new Turkish-made ventilators.

The aid packages bear the Turkish presidential seal along with the Turkish and Somali flags and a famous saying by 13th-century poet and mystic Mevlana Rumi: "There is hope after despair and many suns after darkness."

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US, there are 722 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths in Somalia.

Meanwhile, there are over 42,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent -- with more than 1,700 associated deaths, according to WHO.

Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Ivory Coast are the worst affected countries by the virus in Africa.