Turkey has sent a Turkish Air Force A-400M cargo plane loaded with medical supplies of corona masks, gowns and test kits, which it donated to a number of Balkan countries on April 8, 2020.
Medical supplies were provided by the Turkish Ministry of Health to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo.
Medical supplies were sent in boxes showing the words of the poet Jalaluddin Rumi in the thirteenth century: "There is hope after despair and many suns after dark."
Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have requested assistance through NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC). EADRCC is the primary disaster response mechanism for NATO. The center operates 24/7, coordinates requests from NATO allies and partners, as well as offers of assistance to deal with the consequences of major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Turkish initiative is the latest example of the Allied effort to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. Turkey last week sent another Turkish Air Force A-400M cargo plane carrying medical supplies to Spain and Italy.
