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Oct 30 2020

North Macedonia receives ventilators from NATO stockpile

LUXEMBOURG – 60 ventilators and other equipment were shipped from NATO stockpile on 30 October 2020, in response to requests for international assistance to NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC).

The ventilators were collected from the NSPA Southern Operational Centre (SOC) in Taranto (Italy) and delivered to Skopje Airport (North Macedonia) in the presence of North Macedonian authorities and a NATO representative.

In total, six pallets containing ventilators for North Macedonia and Montenegro as well as accessories for Albania, were transported from Brindisi Airport (Italy) to North Macedonia by an Italian C27J Spartan aircraft. The air delivery mission was sponsored by Luxembourg and managed by the European Air Transport Command (EATC). Some of the equipment will be transported separately from Skopje to their final destination in Montenegro and in Albania in the coming days.

NATO has established a stockpile of medical equipment and supplies to be able to provide immediate relief to Allies or partners in need. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) manages the purchase, storage and logistics of relief items for the stockpile.

Several Allies have already made financial contributions to the NATO Pandemic Response Trust Fund, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Slovakia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. In addition, the United States and Hungary have donated hundreds of ventilators.

About EATC (European Air Transport Command):

EATC is a multinational command for air transport, air-to-air refuelling and aeromedical evacuation. The seven members (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain) pool and share their air mobility assets with one common set of rules and regulations. Every member nation has at all moment access to the complete multinational fleet of approximately 170 aircraft.

About Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC):

EADRCC is NATO's principal civil emergency response mechanism in the Euro-Atlantic area. It is active all year round, operational on a 24/7 basis, and involves all NATO Allies and partner countries. In response to the current outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, the EADRCC is coordinating requests for and offers of international assistance from NATO Allies and partner countries.