Switzerland sends Covid medical aid to Indonesia
A Swiss cargo aircraft carrying 600 oxygen concentrators left Zurich for Jakarta on Saturday, following an appeal for assistance from the Indonesian authorities to fight the pandemic.
The shipment, valued at nearly CHF1 million ($1.09 million), also included over 12,000 protective coveralls and 45,000 face masks, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) said.
The Swiss embassy in Jakarta will work closely with local authorities to ensure the material is distributed “fairly based on need, in accordance with humanitarian principles,” the department added.
Switzerland has now made six deliveries of medical supplies overseas worth over CHF15 million altogether since May. Swiss Humanitarian Aid, which is part of the FDFA, previously sent equipment such as respirators and oxygen concentrators to Tunisia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India.
Indonesia has experienced a sharp rise in new Covid cases in recent weeks, as the Delta variant spreads and authorities struggle to vaccinate the island nation’s population, the world’s fourth largest.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.