Algharrafa Foundation, a Qatari organization, and a group of Afghan investors in China provided medical equipment worth more than $2 million to the Ministry of Public Health, according to Afghan officials.

The Qatari organization provided $1 million worth of aid and pledged to build a hospital in Farah province.

The medical equipment includes testing kits along with other essential equipment. 

“We have been working in Afghanistan for the last seven years in different sectors including education, health, agriculture, wildlife protection and humanitarian assistance,” said Shahid Jawadullah, head of the foundation in Afghanistan.

He said that they have begun surveying for the construction of a “modern hospital” in Farah.

The deputy minister of public health, Wahidullah Majroh, said the assistance will prove effective for the fight against the coronavirus in Afghanistan.

“With this equipment, the coronavirus response can be ramped up in the country’s hospitals and we will be able to increase our ability to treat patients,” said Majroh.

On the aid package provided by Afghan investors, the CEO of Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Sayed Zaman Hashemi, said “the package includes 5,000 testing kits, 1,000 standard masks, 100 thermometers, and 2,000 kits of personal protection equipment.”

“So far, Afghan investors (in China) have provided aid packages worth $3 million to different provinces of the country,” said Abdul Jabbar Safi, a representative of Afghan businessmen in China.

This comes as the number of positive cases of the coronavirus has greatly increased over the last week with health officials warning that the peak of the virus will be reached in a matter of weeks.