LUXEMBOURG - On 22 February 2021, NATO partner Tunisia received 100,000 FFP2 masks and 15,000 disposable coveralls from the NATO's Pandemic Response Stockpile. The donation was coordinated by the NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) after Tunisia's request for international assistance in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Personal Protective Equipment was purchased, stored and transported to Tunisia by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). Luxembourg and Denmark supported NSPA with the transportation, enabling a cost and time efficient delivery.
The supplies will be distributed to the main military hospitals in Tunis, including the new Military Hospital of Sfax (South of Tunisia), the Military Hospital of Bizerte (North of Tunisia), Gabes (South of Tunisia) and other military medical facilities.
NATO has established a Pandemic Response Trust Fund and a stockpile of medical equipment and supplies to provide immediate relief to Allies or partners in need, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. To date, eighteen Allies have made financial and in-kind donations of medical equipment and supplies to the Pandemic Response Trust Fund. Allies have approved assistance packages for four Allies: Albania, Czech Republic, Montenegro and North Macedonia, as well as for five partners, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Moldova, Tunisia and Ukraine.
The assistance provided to Tunisia is part of the 11 NATO COVID-19 assistance packages for NATO Allies and Partners. Tunisia is a long-standing NATO partner, part of NATO Mediterranean Dialogue since in 1994. Tunisia and NATO approved in 2014 an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme focused on several priority areas, including political dialogue, cooperation in the fight against terrorism, border security, cyber defence, defence planning and management and science cooperation.