Commitment to fight COVID-19: India gifts 150 ICU beds to Nepal

Kathmandu: India on Sunday gifted 150 ICU beds to Nepal as part of its commitment to Covid-19 cooperation with the Himalayan nation.

Indian Ambassador to Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over the beds to Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki at a ceremony organised at the Ministry of Health and Population on Sunday, according to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

At the ceremony, Kwatra reiterated India's commitment to assist Nepal in comprehensively managing the pandemic, including through cooperation in the critical health infrastructure of the country.

Karki appreciated the gesture from India, adding that it is an important milestone in Nepal's fight against Covid-19 and it shows the incredible goodwill enjoyed by both the countries.

Since the start of the pandemic, India has provided around $6.5 million worth of grant assistance to Nepal, through supply of essential medicines, RT-PCR tests, ventilators, and essential medicines, etc.

Nepal was one of the first countries to receive 1 million doses of Covishield vaccines from India in January 2021 as grant. Besides this, the Indian Army has also supplied 1 lakh doses of vaccines to the Nepal Army as grant, along with medical supplies including BIPAP machines, antigen kits, PPE, masks, ambulances and ICU beds.

India and Nepal have a robust cooperation in the health sector, that includes supply of ambulances, regular training and capacity building programmes, and development of health infrastructure including major hospitals, trauma & maternity centres, naturopathy centres, eye care centres etc.