The South Korean envoy Park Chong-suk handed over some 94 units of oxygen concentrators to health minister Umesh Shrestha today.
Likewise, Koica-Kaan donated three units of oxygen concentrators to Methinkot Hospital today.
The Republic of Korea -- popularly known as South Korea -- has also prepared plans to provide oxygen concentrators worth $604,500 (a total 378 Units of oxygen concentrators) to Nepal via Koica. The handover was carried out to support Nepal’s Covid-19 responses through Koica’s development projects in Nepal along with the donation from Koica Alumni Association of Nepal (KAAN), according to a press note issued by the South Korean Embassy in Kathmandu. "The remaining 281 units of oxygen concentrators will be handed over to Nepal by the end of September 2021."
Koica decided to support these oxygen concentrators based on the request of the Health Ministry due to acute shortage of medical oxygen supply during the second wave of Covid-19 in Nepal. "It is a nine liters per minute capacity high flow oxygen concentrator manufactured in the USA," the press note reads, adding that out of the 378 oxygen concentrators, Koica plans to provide 280 units to Health Ministry, three units to Methinkot Hospital through KAAN, some 15 units to Nepal Korea Friendship Municipality Hospital, some 10 units to Trishuli Hospital, some 25 units to Kathmandu University, some 25 units to Dhulikhel Hospital, some 15 units to Tikapur Hospital and some 5 units to Mugu Hospital."
The South Korean ambassador -- at the handover ceremony -- said that Korea has always considered Nepal as one of its close friends and has always extended its supportive hands to Nepal. "Korea will continue its support to various sectors for Nepal’s development," he said, expressing his hope that each of these equipment will be dispatched to the hospitals where they are most needed and effectively utilised.
Likewise, minister Shrestha thanked the ambassador and the government of Republic of Korea for such meaningful support. He stressed that the support from Korea shall be distributed very carefully to hospitals with a shortage of medical oxygen supply.
South Korea, through Koica, has been supporting Nepal since the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Koica has already provided medical essentials worth $726,000 -- including more than 57,000 complete sets of RT PCR test kits and Covid-19 protection materials like PPE, mask, sanitizer, surgical gloves, thermometers to various hospitals in need of support -- for Nepal’s Covid-19 response since 2020.
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