The government of Germany has donated the surgical and medical masks to help the government of Lesotho in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking during the handover ceremony held in Maseru, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mr. Khothatso Tšooana thanked the government of Germany for this assistance, saying the donations came at the time when Lesotho is hit hard by the pandemic.
Mr. Tšooana said Lesotho and Germany have a long-existing diplomatic relationship particularly in the health sector, saying for the past years, the government of Germany assisted Lesotho with highly specialised doctors in different fields.
He said Germany has also assisted Lesotho with medical aid, adding that in the advent of HIV/AIDS, the first team of experts was trained in Germany for the management of this disease.
Besides the contribution in human resource capacity building, Germany continues to financially support Lesotho through the Global Fund.
He, therefore, thanked the government of Germany, saying Lesotho is grateful for the continuous support.
The acting Ambassador of Germany, Dr Rudiger Lots remarked that health workers are front liners in the fight against COVID-19, saying they are mostly affected by the pandemic hence the donation of surgical and medical masks.
Dr Lots said COVID-19 continues to cause a disturbing impact on society especially in the region of Africa which has recorded about 4,950 000 cumulative cases and 117, 952 deaths in 47 countries.
“Lesotho has its own share of the devastating effects with 13,603 cumulative infections and the death toll of 377,” Dr Lots explained.
He remarked that this has excessive pressure on the already limited health systems.
He mentioned that as the leading and responsible United Nations agency for guidance on the global health issues, World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to the improvement of health at the country level through a strategic partnership with their donors and partners to the Ministry of Health.
He said they are happy as the government of Germany to provide surgical and medical masks to Lesotho Ministry of Health to support COVID-19 interventions, noting that they believe that these donations will complete the ongoing work to respond to this deadly pandemic.
Moreover, the WHO representative, Dr Susan Tembo said WHO will continue to support countries, Lesotho included in the fight against the pandemic during this devastating time when countries experience a rapid increase of infections.
The donation consists of 450 000 masks.
So far, the country has 13 603 cumulative cases while the confirmed deaths are 377.
By Staff Reporter: Noliwe Velaphe