Global Together donated 3,000 face masks and 10,000 COVID-19 diagnostic kits to Afghanistan last month as a means to extend help to developing countries and express support for global health.

The non-governmental organization announced Thursday it donated the face masks and diagnostic kits to the Afghanistan Embassy in South Korea on April 20 in a ceremony attended by four Korea International School students and Ambassador of Afghanistan to South Korea Abdul Hakim Atarud.

The COVID-19 diagnostic kits were provided by MiCo BioMed and the masks were prepared by Global Together, headed by Kim Kyo-shik, former vice minister of gender equality and family. The products were to be transported to Afghanistan through Afghanistan Airways.

According to the World Health Organization, Afghanistan has reported a total of 62,718 COVID-19 cases and 2,713 deaths as of Thursday morning. The fatality rate stands at 4.3 percent, indicating that the virus situation is serious, Global Together said.

“I sincerely thank you for your support to my country, which is having a hard time due to the war,” Atarud said in a statement. “I love Korea enough to volunteer to come as an Afghan ambassador to Korea, and I hope the two countries will cooperate more and develop a helpful friendship.”

The four KIS students who participated in the sponsorship said they were pleased to help the country in need, adding the event has helped them better grow as global citizens.

As a means to provide continued interest and support for developing nations and global health, Global Together said it had also provided the Nepalese and Uzbekistan embassies with COVID-19 relief packages.

By The Korea Herald staff (khnews@heraldcorp.com)