The first shipment of donated medical supplies to Africa by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Today, an Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight loaded with a large batch of medical supplies donated to Africa from the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation departed from Guangzhou, China and landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The flight carried 5.4 million face masks, kits for 1.08 million detection tests, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 sets of protective face shields.

“The supplies will be transported on and distributed throughout the rest of the continent. The remaining shipments of medical supplies are expected to reach Addis Ababa and be distributed to more African nations over the next few weeks. This relief initiative forms part of Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation’s ongoing efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 and provide aid to afflicted communities across the globe. Earlier this week, the foundations had announced their commitment to donating 100,000 medical masks, 20,000 test kits and 1,000 protective suits and face shields to each of the 54 nations on the African continent,” a statement from the foundation said Sunday.



“Getting these donations to all 54 African countries, with diverse geographic conditions and different levels of infrastructure, is a great logistical and transportation challenge. We are working around the clock to make the delivery as fast as possible. The faster we move, the earlier we can help,” said the Jack Ma Foundation.

“Like so many other areas of life, the pandemic has brought about new challenges for the global movement of goods. With our technology and eWTP Hubs, we are doing our utmost to quickly deliver these donations, so the supplies can reach those who need them most,” added Juntao Song, Secretary-General of eWTP.