Boxes of donations offered by Egypt to Lebanon, at Beirut international airport. (Credit: Ministry of Public Health on Twitter / @mophleb)
BEIRUT — An Egyptian plane carrying a donation from the country of 27 tons of medicines, vaccines and medical supplies needed to combat cholera arrived at the cargo building at Beirut international airport on Wednesday morning, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The donation was received by Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Yasser Alawi and Secretary-General of the High Relief Commission Mohammed Khair.
During a ceremony following the plane's arrival, Alawi said, “17 tons of aid were expected to arrive, but the aid was increased to 27 tons," assuring that Egypt will remain beside Lebanon in the crisis it is facing.
These donations had been promised by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi after a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the Arab League summit in Algiers last week.
From the airport, Abiad said that the aid and vaccines sent by Egypt will have a "major role" in assisting the Lebanese Health Ministry in limiting the spread of cholera across the country.
He assured that the “aid will be transferred to the warehouses of the Health Ministry, and its distribution will begin tomorrow to hospitals, whether governmental or field ones, which are currently receiving cholera patients.”
Since Lebanon’s economic crisis began to take shape in 2019, Cairo has sent several shipments of food and medical aid to Beirut.
Turkey, Italy, Qatar and the US, among other countries, have been sending aid to assist Lebanon, which is facing one of the world's worst economic crises since the mid-nineteenth century, according to a World Bank report.
The crisis has taken a toll on the Lebanese medical system, which now has to fight its first cholera outbreak in 30 years. The waterborne disease has killed 18 people since Oct. 5, while more than 400 people have contracted the infection to date.