The Government has donated medical supplies valued at more than $10 million to the Republic of Cuba, to assist in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Spanish-speaking island.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, handed over the items to Chargé d’ Affaires of the Cuban Embassy, Ulises Calvo Borges, during a ceremony held at the Embassy in Kingston on Wednesday (September 15).

The items include medicines, disposable medical masks, sterile gauze pads, inhalers, and other over-the-counter pharmaceutical items.

Senator Johnson Smith in a statement informed that the donation is part of a broader response by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to Cuba.

“The Foreign Ministry is also pleased to facilitate [the] shipment of additional medical supplies donated by members of the local medical fraternity and other well-wishers, which will be included in the container to be shipped. We express our thanks to these persons for their acts of benevolence,” the statement said.

The donation was organised through a joint effort with Jamaican private-sector companies, LASCO Pharmaceuticals and CARI-MED Limited.