Coronavirus: India sending medicines to 25 African countries

New Delhi, May 8 () India is dispatching medicines to more than 25 African countries as part of assistance for them to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

It said medicines included hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol and other drugs which are immediately required to fight the pandemic.

"These medicines are expected to complement the national efforts of the various countries in Africa to combat the pandemic," the MEA said in a statement.

On April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and conveyed to him India's "full support" to the African continent in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Ramaphosa also heads the African Union, a continental body comprising 55 African nations.

Modi held telephonic talks with President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed.

Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too held telephonic conversations with his counterparts in several African countries to reiterate India's solidarity with the African people in the fight against COVID-19.

India has provided over three million hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets and two million paracetamol tablets to various countries as part of its assistance.

Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19. MPB NSDNSD