The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has donated $20,000 worth of medical equipment and protective supplies to Nepal’s Red Cross Society (NRCS) to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The donation comes as QRCS completes its latest project in Nepal aimed at helping the country control the spread of COVID19. QRCS work focussed on building the capacity of its Nepalese counterpart and bolstering the protection of its medical staff and facilities.

The $20,000 project is expected to help up to 15,000 people in 21 districts of seven provinces.

QRCS’ drive succeeded in upgrading 55 ambulance vehicles, significantly more than the 20 originally planned. The upgraded ambulances now contain brand new compartment divisions, oxygen cylinders, oxygen masks, and flow meters.

Read also: Qatar’s Red Crescent helps fight spread of COVID in Gaza schools

In addition, 20 orientation events were conducted in order to train 20 paramedic drivers on infection prevention and control (IPC), personal protective equipment (PPE), and the necessary precautionary measures that should be taken to ensure proper protection against the disease. 

The donations included equipment and supplies for health facilities, medicines and medical supplies, protection for medical professionals and volunteers, food and shelter for families worst affected by loss of income, protective supplies (masks, gloves, sanitisers, etc.). Moreover, 1,733 PPEs were distributed to frontline volunteers in 21 districts.

As part of the coronavirus disinfection drive, Disinfectant spray bottles were distributed in a number of different workplaces. Additionally, blood transfusion service centres and hospitals were regularly disinfected in order to ensure the safety of both NRCS volunteers and staff.

“The project not only provided me with an employment opportunity, but also inspired me to serve the community. These days, I am involved in transferring those who need to be taken to the designated hospital for Covid-19 test. We were provided with PPE and received first-aid training,” said Dan Bikram Thapa, an ambulance driver at NRCS’s chapter in Jhapa.

“Initially, I was so scared and had no idea what would come up after transferring the infected people from Bharadashi Gapa to Biratnagar Corona Hospital, which was my first case regarding Covid-19 response,” added Thapa. 

The QRCS’s initiative is part of the charity’s push to support fellow National Societies in 22 countries across six continents, aimed at protecting 320,000 people from the danger of getting infected, with a total budget of approximately QR2.2mn.

These countries are: Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Laos, Vanuatu, Ethiopia, Chad, Senegal, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Mali, Sierra Leone, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Venezuela, El Salvador, Peru, and Panama.

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