Vietnamese community in South Africa donate face masks to Namibia and Botswana

ABO/NDO – Continuing the series of practical activities to help countries in southern Africa with their COVID-19 fight, the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa on August 13 handed over 100,000 face masks to the representative agencies of Namibia and Botswana in Pretoria in service of their domestic anti-pandemic efforts.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Hoang Van Loi said the face masks were donated by the Vietnamese community in South Africa to help the people of the two nations push back the disease.

Sharing with the representatives of Namibia and Botswana about the pandemic situation in Vietnam, Loi said that the Vietnamese Government considers COVID-19 prevention and control its most important and urgent task at present, affirming that Vietnam always puts the health and life of its people first and foremost.

Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Van Loi (L) hands over 50,000 face masks to Chargé d'Affaires of the Botswana Embassy Gaogane Tiny Mothobi. (Photo: VNA).

On this occasion, the ambassador asked about the COVID-19 situation in Namibia and Botswana, sharing Vietnam’s anti-pandemic experience with the two nations and discussing cooperation opportunities in other potential areas.

For his part, Namibian Ambassador to South Africa Veiccoh K. Nghiwete expressed his appreciation for the noble gesture of the Vietnamese people, emphasising that the donation of face masks represents the friendship, brotherhood and solidarity between the two countries’ peoples.

Chargé d'Affaires of the Botswana Embassy Gaogane Tiny Mothobi also extended his deep gratitude to the Vietnamese people, saying the face masks would soon be sent home for effective use in the context of the COVID-19 complexity in the African countries.

Previously, the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa organised the hand-over of face masks to Eswatini’s representative agency. About 100,000 face masks donated by the Vietnamese community are expected to be handed over to Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the time ahead, 50,000 for each.

In South Africa, the Vietnamese Embassy has also organised delegations to visit and donate face masks to schools in Pretoria. The mask-donating programme will continue to be implemented for some schools and residential communities in other localities in South Africa in the near future.

Together with the donation of over one million face masks to support the COVID-19 fight in African countries, the Vietnamese Embassy in Pretoria has mobilised donations from Vietnamese representative agencies and communities in South Africa to support the national COVID-19 prevention and control fund at home.

(Source: NDO)