U.S. donation of 4.25 tons of personal protection items and other supplies
arrives in Chile to help deal with Covid
A large new donation of masks, personal protective equipment kits, gloves and medical monitoring equipment was sent to Chile by the U.S. non-profit organization World Hope International for a value of nearly 100 thousand dollars, which aims to help address the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an activity that took place today, Tuesday, August 3, at the II Air Brigade of the Chilean Air Force (FACH), Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Richard Glenn, delivered the donation to the representatives of the Ministries of Health and Defense. The event was attended by the representative of World Hope International, Daesha Friedmann; the Chief of Staff of the Undersecretary of Health Care Networks, Nicolás Duhalde; the Commander-in-Chief of the II Air Force Brigade, and Air Force Brigadier Generals (A) Víctor Cerda Ramírez and Gonzalo Opazo Drouillas.
The head of the U.S. mission emphasized that “the United States has been a historic and reliable partner of Chile in disaster relief and now, more than ever, we stand with Chile.” At the brief ceremony, Chargé d’affaires Glenn emphasized that this aid is part of the “All of the United States” initiative, which brings together public and private efforts, where the U.S. government, the private sector and civil society organizations have promoted the delivery of millions of dollars in aid to overcome the challenges of these difficult times.
On this occasion, the donation includes 100 pulse oximeters, 170 digital thermometers, 60 blood pressure monitors, 43,200 three-fold face masks, 15,000 face shields, 100 boxes of disposable gloves with 10,000 units each, 4,470 disposable pecheras, and 28,800 personal protection kits which were delivered to the Ministry of Health for distribution to first responders and health residences. Another 14,400 KN95 masks, the same number of three-fold masks, 500 boxes of disposable gloves, and 14,400 protection kits were delivered to the Ministry of Defense for distribution to first responders.
This contribution was made possible through the good offices of U.S. Department of Defense personnel in the Office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Chile and the Texas Air National Guard, as well as the Chilean Air Force, which facilitated the transfer in a KC-135 aircraft.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the United States has joined efforts across all sectors to help Chile respond to Covid. Detailed information on U.S. support to Chile to date is available at this link.
