Coronavirus: French Development Agency helps Indian Ocean islands against pandemic

30 Avril 2020

Ebene, Mauritius, April 30  (Infosplusgabon) - The French Development Agency (AFD) has provided a new grant of 2 million euros to the Indian Ocean Commission's (IOC) Epidemic Surveillance and Investigation Network (SEGA One Health), which will enable the it to implement its second response plan against COVID-19 (coronavirus), an official statement from the IOC headquarters in Ebene, Mauritius, said on Thursday.

The IOC comprises five islands in the Indian Ocean: Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles and Reunion (France).

In a statement, the IOC said the response plan, which covers Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, is in addition to the initial project, which now stands at 10 million euros.

"This plan will also mobilise the Red Cross Indian Ocean Regional Response Platform (PIROI) and the Pasteur Institute in Madagascar, among others. It will support member states to carry out emergency actions in response to the COVID-19 epidemic," the IOC said.

In detail, it is planned for the Comoros to set up a platform of 50,000 rapid diagnostic tests and sending of three experts to the country.

There are also plans to equip four care centres, providing them with adequate resources such as 12 respirators and 3 ambulances to transport patients to treatment centres.

At this level, other resuscitation devices, including 30 resuscitation beds, 34 automated patient tracking devices, and many other essential equipment for the treatment of intensive care patients will be sent to Comoros.

In addition to these equipment, the IOC is currently contributing to the communication and awareness of the Comorian population.

In the case of Madagascar, 33 respirators and 10 oxygen concentrators will be made available to the country for 33 intensive care units with a total of 330 beds for the University Hospitals (CHU), as well as 2,100 protective equipment (EPI) for the 2,000 health workers who care for patients.

For Mauritius, the IOC purchases equipment and reagents to be able to carry out 50,000 diagnostic tests with the population and also to screen cases at the community level.

The purchase of protective equipment, composed of 5,000 high-performance protective masks, 5,000 wetsuits and goggles for health workers in contact with patients, as well as other equipment required for the care of COVID-19 patients, is also planned.

In Seychelles, IOC support will be focused on care. About 40 vital parameters monitoring equipment, both manual and electronic, as well as other equipment for the follow-up of patients in intensive care, for all COVID-19 patient care facilities will be provided to the country's authorities.

A population care centre, multifunctional resuscitation fans and other equipment, as well as personal protective equipment for health professionals are part of the support and batches that will be handed over to the authorities to combat this pandemic.

"With this response plan, the IOC shows its commitment to supporting the regional fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This additional and substantial support from AFD will allow us to continue and amplify our support for the efforts of our Member States to protect their populations from the COVID-19 pandemic", IOC Secretary General Hamada Madi said.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/RTF/GABON2020

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