On the evening of April 14^th, a first shipment of critical medical supplies including A30 ventilators arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria. The supplies, which came from China, were procured with the assistance of UNDP China.

Over the last month, as the crisis brought on by COVID-19 has stabilized in China, UNDP China has been shifting its response efforts to supporting other developing countries by helping with the procurement of various medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE).

With the country easing lockdowns and quarantines, China has been able to ramp up its production of medical supplies in recent months and is also one of the few nations not currently banning exports. This has allowed UNDP China to help its international counterparts procure supplies. The supplies are being shipped to developing countries, in line with UNDP’s mandate to support the most vulnerable around the world.

Medical supplies being offloaded at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria.

“A total of 250,000 masks have been sent to UNDP offices in Iran, Mongolia, and Vietnam so far, and 1,000 ventilators will be shipped abroad shortly,” stated Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China. “To ensure quality, we are following a process governed by UNDP corporate procurement guidelines; the suppliers that we have been working with are certified by national health authorities, including China's National Drug Association,” Trankmann added.

Domestically, UNDP China has been supporting China’s response to the disease ever since it emerged in late January of this year. In February and March, UNDP donated more than 7,000 pieces of PPE and medical supplies, worth approximately half a million USD, to support healthcare personnel on the frontlines during the height of the pandemic in China.