Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal supported the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) with about 40 thousand complete sets of RT-PCR test kits through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The support worth USD 6.25 hundred thousand. Half of the test kits arrived in Kathmandu airport today, and the rest will arrive in June 20 by chartered flight.

Currently, COVID-19 positive cases are in rise in Nepal and it requires mass testing throughout the country. MoHP is working hard to control this pandemic. However, it needs to be supported by wider range of partners and society itself. Korea has always been a sincere friend of Nepal and have always supported in its difficult times.

Acting Ambassador Sun Chil Kwon handed over the kits to Dr. Roshan Pokhrel, Chief Specialist, Health Co-ordination Division, Ministry of Health and Population in Tribhuvan International Airport. South Korean NGO Good Neighbors International (GNI) also participated in the handover ceremony, as it supported more than 10 thousand complete sets of RT-PCR test kits worth USD 1.44hundred thousand to the MoHP. All in all the MoHP can conduct more about 50 thousand of tests with this support from South Korea.

The supported PCR test kits are complete sets, composed of three different types of kits required for stable diagnosis of Covid-19.These kits were finalized after consultation with MoHP and they are fully compatible with almost all the equipment used by the public health labourites of Nepal.

Recently, KOICA supported PPEs, Mask, Surgical mask, Surgical gloves, Sanitizer to 4 hospitals of Nepal worth USD 77 thousand, with the aim to strengthen the ability of hospitals and health workers to handle COVID-19 cases. Out of which 3 are government hospitals constructed by KOICA itself and 1 is community hospital. As a result, these hospitals were well prepared and currently they are successfully handling patients with COVID-19 infections.

Besides these assistance, KOICA has also launched an awareness campaigns against COVID-19 through making YouTube videos, inviting renowned personal on Stay Strong online relay campaigns, etc.

During the handover event, Sun Chil Kwon Acting Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nepal expressed that “this assistance will support the MoHP to conduct mass testing of the citizen of Nepal which is the most urgent action of the current scenario of Nepal”.

Likewise Sunghoon Ko, Country Director of KOICAstated that“KOICA will continuously put his efforts to support the Government of Nepal during this tough times and he expressed that all these assistance will be efficiently utilized by the MoHP”. He added that KOICA is continuing its activities through various partner I/NGOs and UN agencies to support Nepal to deal with COVID-19 pandemic.

After taking a handover Dr. Pokhrel expressed gratitude for the support provided by the Government of the Republic of Korea, KOICA and GNI and stated that the support provided is very much valuable for Nepal. He assured that this assistance will be best utilized in the interest of common people of Nepal. Finally, he hoped that there will be continuous support from Korea.

KOICA has been contributing to COVID-19 response in Nepal through consecutive supports of protection equipment and PCR test kits.KOICA continuously engaged with MoHP to provide assistance by sharing Korea’s experiences on fighting COVID-19 and motivating the Government to implement those practices in Nepal.