The U.S. Air Force coordinated the transport of a donation of more than 87,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, which the U.S. non-profit, nongovernmental organization (NGO) Project Hope sent to Chile to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This NGO offers assistance to respond to different emergency situations worldwide, through medical, educational, or humanitarian aid programs.
The donation, which left the United States on a Hercules C-130 aircraft, arrived at the El Bosque Chilean Air Force Base, on April 22, 2021. Chargé d’Affaires to the U.S. Embassy in Chile Richard Glenn said at the handover ceremony that this assistance is part of the U.S. contributions to Chile to support the efforts against the pandemic.
Glenn said that this initiative, as well as those carried out in recent months, is part of U.S. efforts to help face the pandemic, which come together under the motto All of America helps Chile.
Project Hope’s shipment, with a total value of $143,000, includes KN95 masks, Uniflex face shields, hand sanitizers, and non-surgical bibs, weighing a total of 6,327 kilograms. Authorities will distribute the PPE kits to the National Council for the Protection of the Elderly and to the Undersecretary of Health’s Metropolitan Ministerial Regional Secretariat. The contribution was made through the U.S. Department of Defense personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Chile’s Office of Security Cooperation. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the United States has coordinated efforts across all sectors to help Chile respond to COVID-19.iniciativa
Transfer of a C-130 Hercules to Chile
The Project Hope donation was transported on one of two C-130 Hercules aircraft that the U.S. Air Force is transferring to Chile in 2021, under provisions of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act. The U.S. Congress has authorized this transfer, and the delivery will occur at no cost to Chile. The aircraft transfer is an expression of the friendship between the two countries, and reflects the excellent and extensive cooperation between both nations.
Both C-130 aircraft are model H, the most recently manufactured by Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics, and will be added to the Chilean Air Force fleet. These are tactical transport aircraft used in a wide variety of operations, from the transport of troops and logistics equipment, helicopters, and armed vehicles, to support in aeromedical and firefighting missions. The second C-130 aircraft in this transfer will arrive in Chile in the coming months.