The Republic of Moldova has received twenty ventilators from NATO’s Pandemic Response Stockpile to help the country respond to coronavirus infections. NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre and Hungary coordinated the donation in response to a request by Moldova for COVID-19 assistance.
The medical equipment was donated to the NATO stockpile by Hungary and subsequently handed over to the Minister of Health of the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Ala Nemerenco, by the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Mr. Péter Szijjártó, during a ceremony in Chisinau on 17 September. The NATO Liaison Office in the Republic of Moldova supported the coordination of the donation.
The donation will benefit patients and medical staff of the Republican Clinical Hospital “Timofei Moşneaga” and other medical institutions in the Republic of Moldova. The recent delivery is part of the overall assistance Allies are providing to the Republic of Moldova to address the effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the Republic of Moldova received over 100,000 FFP2 masks and 25,000 disposable coveralls. Additional medical items are planned to be delivered to the Republic of Moldova in the coming weeks.
In 2020, NATO established a Pandemic Response Trust Fund that maintains a stockpile of medical equipment and supplies to be able to provide immediate relief to Allies or partners in need. Since the establishment of the Pandemic Response Trust Fund, NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre has provided multiple tranches of COVID-19 assistance to four Allies and seven Partner nations. The provision of assistance has contributed to enhancing the preparedness and resilience of national health systems during several recurring waves of the pandemic.