The Government of Japan provided six ambulances to support the Government of Nepal in order to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambassador KIKUTA Yutaka attended the hand-over ceremony today with State Minister of Health and Population Umesh Shrestha at the Nepal Ambulance Service in Kathmandu.

On the occasion of the hand-over ceremony, Ambassador KIKUTA stated that “It is my great pleasure to be able to provide six ambulances from Japan to our dear Nepali friends.” The ambulances are 4WD type vehicles manufactured in Japan by a well-known Japanese automobile company “NISSAN”.

These Japan-made ambulances, equipped with a stretcher, an oxygen cylinder and an emergency medical box, can serve as mobile hospitals to manage emergency care and are capable of running on a rough road, transporting COVID19 and other patients to hospitals even in a mountainous area in Nepal.

Japan has donated medical equipment including high-concentration oxygen generators to hospitals throughout Nepal and advanced medical care equipment such as MRI machines to eight public advanced hospitals to strengthen the health sector of the country.

1.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were provided in August, and Cold Chain assistance for the last one-mile distribution of vaccine is coming. Japan has been implementing comprehensive support to the health sector of Nepal, and the donation of six ambulances is a part of such multi-layered cooperation. We hope that this support for the Nepali health sector can save more lives and also contribute to improving health and medical services in Nepal. Japan will work together with the Government of Nepal for the recovering of the post-COVID-19 Nepali society and its economy.