Ethiopia has started distributing to the rest of Africa medical supplies obtained from the Jack Ma Foundation to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The medical supplies have been obtained after Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, promised the donations, based on the initiative taken up by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The supplies, flown via Ethiopian Airlines cargo from Guanzhou, China on Sunday, contain 5.4 million face masks, 1.08 million COVID-19 testing kits, 40,000 sets of protecting clothing and 60,000 protective face shields.

The first set of donations to Sudan has arrived in Khartoum on Sunday night. Shiferaw Jarso, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to Sudan, has handed over the supplies to Akarm Ali Al-Tom, Sudan’s Minister of Health.

Ethiopian Airlines is set to distribute the supplies first to Djibouti, Eritrea, and Egypt, as well as other African countries.

According to an earlier statement from Jack Ma Foundation, each one of the 54 African nations will receive 20,000 testing kits, 100,000 masks, and 1,000 medical use protective suits and face shields.

Sources: Africa News, Fana BC