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Singapore has contributed a Covid-19 assistance package to Nepal in support of the country's fight against the pandemic.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Sep. 26, the package consists of medical supplies including diagnostic tests, masks, polyethylene (PE) aprons, thermometers, and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine.
On his Twitter account, Ministry for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said that the latest contribution "complements earlier tranches of supplies sent by our private-sector entities and civil society organisations."
MFA added that the supplies arrived in Kathmandu on Sep. 26.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Covid-19 tracking website, as of Sep. 24, Nepal has recorded a total of 789,872 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Since the start of the pandemic till Sep. 24, a total of 11,081 deaths have been recorded in the country.
As of Sep. 19, a total of 11,804,373 vaccine doses have been administered to its population of 28.6 million.
S'pore a 'strong supporter' of vaccine multilateralism
In his speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Sep. 25 in New York, Vivian described Singapore as "a strong supporter" of vaccine multilateralism.
He said that Singapore will continue to support the COVAX facility and "will donate our vaccines under the COVAX initiative to other countries with greater needs."
As a trans-shipment hub, Vivian said that Singapore has always played a part to keep essential supplies moving to where they are needed the most.
"We have continued to help our friends and our neighbours where we can, through other contributions of medical supplies, oxygen, and equipment," he added.
However, he also highlighted that collectively, countries need to take forward the recommendations of the G20 High Level Independent Panel to address the major gaps in preparedness for future pandemics.
"We need to strengthen the multilateral support for the WHO and the UN, and to mobilise resources for our collective security," he said and added that "no one is safe until everyone is safe."
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Top image via Vivian Balakrishnan/Twitter