In the midst of the crisis caused by coronavirus outbreak, different countries around the world have been reaching out to help one another to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philippines—one of the countries in South East Asia which are currently being pestered the most by coronavirus, is lucky to be receiving aid and assistance in a form of cash, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other medical necessities from different countries around the globe.

Here are the list of countries who reached out to help PH during the pandemic:

Singapore

- Philippines was able to receive more than 40,000 test kits donation of COVID-19 test kits from Singapore in a bid to boost the fight against the virus.

- Temasek Foundation—a nonprofit organization based in Singapore, under the philanthropic arm of the Temasek Holdings, donated 100 oxygen concentrators two ventilators.

Taiwan

- April 15, 2020, Taiwan has donated over 300,000 face masks to the Philippines, as announced by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO)—Taiwan’s acting embassy in the country.

- June 11, 2020, TECO’s second donation consisted of 500,000 pieces of surgical masks, 50,000 pieces of medical grade N95 masks, 20,000 isolation gowns, and 5,000 personal protective gowns.

USA

- April 22, 2020, the US government donated P470 million.

- Previously, the United States announced a total of P203 million donation in health funding to support the Philippine government’s efforts to prepare laboratory systems to fight the virus, as well as a donation of 1,300 cots to Philippine medical facilities.

Japan

- Japan has sent experts for technical cooperation in addressing the outbreak and also donated PCR equipment.

- April 1, medical staff from Nagasaki University arrived in the Philippines to provide technical assistance as well as PCR reagents and equipment to San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.  

- June 8, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teddy Locsin Jr. and Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda exchanged notes for a P944-million grant to support the Department of Health (DOH) through the provision of "state-of-the-art medical equipment" such as CT scanners, X-ray machines, MRI systems, and hemodialysis machines, etc.

- Another P377-million grant was given to the PH to provide agricultural machinery to over 84,000 sugarcane farmers.

- July 22, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced it will provide laboratory equipment and supplies to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

Canada

- June 10, 2020, Canada has already provided a total of P44.5 million worth of assistance. Its donations include 20,000 N95 masks worth P29.5 million (CAD$ 782,000), as part of its CAD$ 4.5-million in-kind contribution to 6 Southeast Asian countries.

- An additional P15.2 million was also reported to go to the Sexual Health and Empowerment Philippines project with Oxfam to ensure sexual and reproductive health services for over 85,000 women, as well as adolescent boys and girls, in conflict-affected regions.

- PH among other countries received diagnostic equipment, testing kits, reagents, and laboratory consumables as part of a CAD$5-million global project that Canada funded through the International Atomic Energy Agency.

- June 23, Canada announced to provide an additional P70.2 million (CAD$ 1.9 million) to its COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines in particular to its mother and newborn child health project implemented by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Canada in remote areas. 

China

- April 17, 2020, a total of 100,000 testing kits, 100,000 surgical masks, 40,000 N95 masks, 50,000 PPEs, 5,000 face shields, and 30 ventilators had been donated to the Philippines so far, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said.

- May 10, 2020, PH government received 150,000 COVID-19 testing kits from the People’s Republic of China, as the Department of Foreign Affairs announced.

- June 9, 2020 20,000 packs of "friendship rice" were distributed to provinces in Northern Luzon including Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Baguio City, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, and Santiago City. The donation given was in line with the 45^th anniversary of diplomatic ties

- Another P3.5 million worth of rice was given to Cebu, while 5,000 “friendship bags” were given to bus and jeepney drivers in Manila. 

South Korea

- April 25, 2020, South Korea had donated a total of 700 units of Q-Sens 2019-nCoV detection kits which were delivered to the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) and other subnational laboratoties, which can perform up to 35,000 tests.

France

- April 25, 2020, the French embassy in the Philippines announced that France already allocated €2 million (about P109.4 million) in grants to support frontline laboratories in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.

According to Rappler, France’s assistance in the PH will go to the RITM for the following:

-Reinforcement of equipment

-Purchase of diagnostic kits

- Acquiring personal protective equipment

- Reinforcement in human resources

- Training and transfer of skills

- Deployment of mass testing “complementing current molecular diagnosis”

- Support for data processing in partnership with France’s Institute for Research for Development to strengthen the surveillance of the coronavirus.

It’s definitely a huge contribution to the world to combat COVID-19 that countries around the globe are willfully aiding one another most especially those countries who are really in need. Although Philippines has been receiving tons of help outside the country, may its government not neglect its responsibilities during this trying time.