Turkey's aid agency distributes food in Botswana

ANKARA

Turkey’s state-run aid body provided food packages to 1,000 families in Botswana amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) delivered aid to families in Rasesa village and southeastern Naledi district of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.

The agency, which does not have a representative office in the southern African country, worked in cooperation with the local authorities to help those in need.

Vice President of Botswana Slumber Tsogwane, Turkey's Ambassador in Gaborone Meltem Buyukkarakas and many other officials attended the delivery ceremony, TIKA said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Buyukkarakas said that 27 tons of food packages to be distributed to 1,000 families in need, who were affected by the pandemic, have been given to Gaborone authorities.

"The COVID-19 outbreak is a global pandemic, and a global struggle is needed to combat it. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of helping hands reaching people in need all over the world," Buyukkarakas said.

Botswana, a sparsely populated country with just over 2.3 million people, so far reported 227 coronavirus cases, 28 recoveries and one fatality, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The global pandemic claimed around 522,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since it has originated in Wuhan, China last December.

The US, Brazil, Russia and India are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.

More than 10.9 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 5.78 million, shows Johns Hopkins data.