By Daniel Namwini
Lilongwe, August 10, Mana: Malawi has received a grant of JPY300 million (approximately K2 billion) from the Government of Japan to assist in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Speaking at the grant signing ceremony in Lilongwe on Monday, Japanese Ambassador to Malawi Iwakiri Satoshi said the grant will assist Malawi Government to procure medical equipment.
“Among the medical equipment to be procured will include Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, ultrasound scanners, bed side monitors and other high-tech medical devices,” he said.
The ambassador said his government remains hopeful that Malawi together with the rest of the world will win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic if they use the grant appropriately.
Minister of Finance, Felix Mlusu, received the grant on behalf of Malawi Government and thanked the Japanese government for the support.
“Government will ensure that the grant is used properly so that it can assist the country to win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Currently, Malawi has recorded 4,627 cases including 146 deaths. Of these cases, 1032 are imported infections and 3627 are locally transmitted.
2375 cases have now recovered bringing the total number of active cases to 2137. The country has so far conducted 34,763 COVID-19 tests in 45 COVID-19 testing sites.
