WHO Provided Rapid Antigen Tests to the National Center of Expertise

The World Health Organization has delivered SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid tests to Kazakhstan worth USD 370,000.

“The World Health Organization delivered a consignment of medical supplies to Kazakhstan for further distribution to the National Center of Expertise of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The medical shipment consists of 147,000 SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid tests worth USD 370,000, provided at the request of the National Center of Expertise. The delivery was made as part of joint measures to combat COVID-19,” stated the WHO Country Office in Kazakhstan.

According to the office, the shipment is part of the total planned volume of humanitarian assistance and was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the European Union, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada. The governments of donor countries have been funding WHO’s humanitarian deliveries to member states since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We hope these tests will be useful in the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 and will help ensure preparedness and a high level of response in the future. It is important to work towards restoring the reality we lived in before the COVID-19 pandemic and to gradually shift our focus to other health risks that were temporarily sidelined during the pandemic,” noted Caroline Clarinval, Head of the WHO Country Office in Kazakhstan.

In turn, Kanat Balykbaev, Director General of the National Center of Expertise, expressed gratitude to the partners for their support and explained that the rapid tests will be used to diagnose coronavirus infection upon entry into the territory of Kazakhstan.

Representatives of the donor countries emphasized the importance of cooperation in the field of health and well-being of the citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Source: www.inform.kz