Turkey helps Mozambique to curb coronavirus

ANKARA The Turkish state-run aid agency has started to provide hygiene materials to Mozambique to help the southern African country curb the coronavirus outbreak. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) is planning to distribute the goods as well as educational materials to seven orphanages and elderly care centers in cooperation with the city government of Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, according to a statement released on Friday. An initial aid donation took place at the May 1 Orphanage with the attendance of Turkey’s Ambassador to Mozambique Zeynep Kiziltan and local officials. Kiziltan said that although April 23, Turkey’s Children’s Day, cannot be celebrated this year as usual due to the pandemic, it is a pleasure to engage in this activity with children. After the children were instructed how to wash their hands and protect themselves from the disease, hygiene materials were delivered to the orphanage. After originating in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions, with Europe and the US currently the worst-hit regions. The pandemic has killed nearly 193,000 people, with total infections exceeding 2.74 million, while nearly 752,000 have recovered. *Writing by Davut Demircan