The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) donated this month personal protective equipment (PPE) to Egypt’s Ministry of Health to support national efforts to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ICRC donation, worth 1 million Egyptian pounds, includes FFP2/N95 masks, protective coveralls, examination gloves, surgical gloves, body bags, and non-touch thermometers.

The PPE will be sent to the health facilities in the governorates of Ismailia and North Sinai. This comes as part of the continued cooperation between the ICRC and the health ministry to support the healthcare system and workers.

This is the second ICRC donation to the health ministry this year. In May, the ICRC donated PPE and oxygen concentrators during a visit by ICRC Vice President Dr. Gilles Carbonnier to Egypt. 

The ICRC has had a cooperative relationship with the Ministry of Health since 2014, working on emergency room trauma courses and training programs for first responders, most notably on mass causality management and mental health and psychosocial support for first aiders.

Since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in Egypt, the ICRC has worked on supporting health facilities and the Egyptian Red Crescent in their response to the pandemic by donating PPE.

The ICRC is an impartial, neutral, and independent organization, present in more than 90 countries around the world, including Egypt, where it has been working for over 100 years.