TİKA Continues to Combat COVID19 on a Global Scale

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) is a central component of the fight that Turkey puts up against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on a global scale through the assistance and support activities it carries out around the world. 

From Azerbaijan to Yemen and Sudan to Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than 370,000 people benefit from the masks and other medical equipment procured by TİKA from local suppliers and the activities it carries out to combat COVID-19 in different regions of the world as part of development cooperation. As part of this effort, on January 30, TİKA loaded medical equipment on the military cargo aircraft that would bring Turkish citizens from the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China, where the COVID-19 outbreak began, to Turkey. Various medical supplies such as 1000 biohazard suits, 93,500 filtering masks, and 1000 disposable protective coveralls were prepared by TİKA and delivered to Chinese authorities.

– The hospital renovated by TİKA has become the center of the fight against COVID-19 in Georgia

Renovated with the contributions of Turkey and put into service with increased capacity on November 22 last year, the Batumi Infectious Diseases Hospital has become the epicenter of the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak in Georgia. Since February 26, when the first coronavirus case was reported in Georgia, nearly 980,000 people, including those from nearby cities, have been treated in the hospital, which was renovated by TİKA. The Batumi Infectious Diseases Hospital is one of the three healthcare facilities that provide COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment in Georgia. It is also the only healthcare facility that provides healthcare for the regions of Adjara, Guria, and Samegrelo in western Georgia. In addition, as part of the “Stay Home” campaign in Georgia, online training sessions were organized for public officials and press members with the support of TİKA to combat COVID-19.

– The hospital built in Gaza will give hope to Palestinians in the fight against COVID-19

As per the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the “Palestine-Turkey Friendship Hospital,” which was built and equipped with modern medical equipment by TİKA in Gaza, was transferred to Palestinian authorities on March 26 to combat COVID-19. The hospital, which has a total interior space of 33,400 sq. meters, consists of 8 interconnected blocks, 4 operating rooms, intensive care units, laboratories, and 180 rooms. The largest and most modern one not only in Gaza but also in Palestine, the hospital is ready to provide healthcare to Gazan people who will return to the region through the Rafah Border Crossing and be quarantined as part of the measures against COVID-19. Moreover, In Pakistan, the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Hospital, which was built and equipped by TİKA in 2014, is used as an important center in the fight against COVID-19.

The 72-bed Bishkek Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Friendship Hospital, which has recently been built and equipped with medical devices by TİKA in Kyrgyzstan, will be put into partial service as part of the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. The transfer of the hospital to Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Health will be completed soon.

 – 3D printers made in Turkey are used in Colombia in the fight against the outbreak 

The Turkish-made 3D printers that were provided to the “Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Modeling,” which was built by TİKA within the Casanare Chamber of Commerce in Colombia last year, are used to produce face shields to be distributed to healthcare providers in Colombia. It is planned to manufacture 16,000 of these face shields, which were first used at the Orinoquia Regional Hospital (HORO) and clinics in Casanare. Moreover, 3D-printed face shields are manufactured in the training center in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to be distributed to Sudanese healthcare providers to support their fight against COVID-19. Furthermore, it is aimed to manufacture 50,000 masks as part of the mask production project supported by TİKA in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first 5,000 of these masks were delivered to healthcare institutions in Zenica and Visoko. Thus, TİKA supports the production of 6,600 face shields in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Uganda, Algeria, Sudan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, and Sri Lanka. 

TİKA also provided the pandemic hospital dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Tunisia with the medical imaging system it needed urgently. 

– TİKA Trains Healthcare Providers in Yemen on COVID-19

TİKA started to train 360 healthcare providers from 8 districts of the city of Aden in southern Yemen as part of the fight against COVID-19. Furthermore, standing in solidarity with Guinean people with disabilities and orphans in the fight against the pandemic, TİKA distributed 400 packages of hygiene products and consumables to people with disabilities, orphans, hospitals, and public institutions. TİKA also distributed food and cleaning supplies to 2,000 families with members over the age of 65, low-income families, and families in need who were adversely affected by the outbreak in Azerbaijan. 

– Aid parcels in North Macedonia 

TİKA started to distribute 2,500 aid parcels containing food, cleaning supplies, and hygiene products in North Macedonia due to the coronavirus outbreak. TİKA provided food parcels, personal protective equipment, and hygiene products to the elderly, people with disabilities, and people in need who live under challenging conditions in the province of Chuy, which was adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan. In addition, TİKA delivered 400 food parcels, 1000 protective masks, 1000 protective gloves, 100 protective coveralls, 100 safety glasses, and 430 antiseptic solutions to the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan to be delivered to those in need in Kyrgyzstan. 

 – Food aid to 4,000 families in Iraq

As part of Turkey’s global fight against COVID-19, TİKA provided food aid to 4,000 families who live under difficult conditions in the cities of Kirkuk and Erbil in Iraq since most of them are day laborers and cannot go to work due to the curfew imposed in the country last month.