Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) Taiwan successfully delivered its first batch of medical supplies to the needy people in Venezuela recently, benefitting more than 100,000 Venezuelans amid the South American country's ongoing political and social turmoil, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Thursday.
The donations are part of a pledge made by Taiwan's government earlier this year that it would donate US$500,000 worth of humanitarian supplies to Venezuela to help it restore stability and prosperity.
The pledge was made during Taiwan's representative to the United States, Stanley Kao's attendance at a "Global Conference on the Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela" held in Washington in February.
Following months of preparations, the first batch of the donations, namely 3.5 metric tons of medical supplies, was finally distributed to the people in need in Venezuela recently, according to a MOFA press release.
The donated supplies included medications for hypertension, water purification tablets, as well as screening tools for HIV, breast, liver, and colorectal cancers.
The batch of donations was made to the National Assembly's deputy Jesss Yanez, who acted as a representative of the Juan Guaido administration in June, MOFA added.
Under the assistance of local NGOs, these supplies, along with three trucks of drinking water, had recently been given to those in need in Venezuela, and they are expected to benefit a total of 106,000 Venezuela citizens, the ministry added.
A diplomatic source told CNA that due to the politically sensitive climate in Venezuela, the ministry could not make public the donation until it had been successfully distributed, taking into consideration the safety of the supply distributors.
The source declined to disclose when the rest of the supplies will be delivered, citing the sensitive nature of the donations.
A deep political, economic and humanitarian crisis has broken out in Venezuela after Guaido, president of the National Assembly, in January declared himself as interim president of the country, and demanded that the sitting President Nicolas Maduro step down. Guaido has since been recognized by around 50 countries, including the United States.
The standoff between Maduro and Guaido has continued since then and has led to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis in the South American country.
