Press Release
Humanitarian Aid to Nepal from Spain
The Embassy of Nepal Madrid received today the in-kind humanitarian aid to Nepal, from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Spanish acronym: AE-CID). As COVID-19 cases surged in May, Nepal requested aid from the European Civil Protection Mechanism to provide medical supplies and help contain the spread of the pandemic. At the same time the Embassy of Nepal, Madrid sent a request to Spain’s Foreign Ministry, to which an immediate offer to provide humanitarian support to Nepal was made.
The equipment donated by Spanish Ministry of Health comprises 33 pallets, valued at around 1 million euros. The shipment, with more than 5 tonnes of health material, includes 15 respirators, 10 oxygen concentrators, together with consumables and spare parts necessary for their use, 144,000 FFP2 face masks and some 125,000 antigen tests. The material has been checked so that it is fit for immediate use upon arrival in Nepal.
The humanitarian aid is being transported to Nepal through a chartered flight from Spain to Nepal. The delegation includes Ambassador of Nepal to Spain, Ms. Dawa F. Sherpa, Mr. Magdy Martínez-Solimán, the Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Mr. Manuel Gonzalez Garragori, Director of the Division of Consular Emergency, Mr. Roberto Arranz Arran, MAEC, Head of the Emergency & Post conflict Department, AECID), Official of Department of Communication, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Media persons from Spain.
AECID has also offered the Ministry of Health of Nepal a specialized medical training package in response to the pandemic, in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Health, the country’s large hospitals and the Comunidades Autónomas.
The flight also includes materials collected by Nepali diaspora in Spain to assist Nepal. This includes supplies like masks, Sanitizers, Gloves and other materials. The flight, arranged by AECID, will arrive in Kathmandu on Thursday, 20 May, and the relief materials will be handed over to the Ministry of Health and Population for distribution in Nepal.
The Embassy coordinated with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC), The Embassy of Spain in New Delhi and Honorary Consul in Kathmandu to Organize humanitarian flight which will serve to send medical aid and Supplies to Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population and to repatriate Spanish Nationals and residents stranded in Nepal due to the suspension of Commercial flights.
Embassy of Nepal, Madrid
19 May 2021
