Italy has sent back the donation of millions of euros against the pandemic to Kuwait. Word of Zambon (ex WHO)
With the Kuwait donation (3 million euros) Italy could buy ultrasounds and oximeters useful in the pandemic in 2020, but the Conte government did not use them and they returned to Kuwait. Facts, numbers and details
The story of the cover-up of the WHO report drawn up by the former official Francesco Zambon and contrasted by the WHO deputy director Ranieri Guerra ( here the version of Guerra ) is enriched with a further piece.
The inaccurate correspondence published by "Repubblica"
The show “Non è l'Arena”, conducted by Massimo Giletti on La7 , has returned to deal with the case starting from some Zambon – Guerra correspondence and published by Repubblica . In the email exchanges concerning the Zambon report, financed by the Kuwait government with the aim of informing the countries not yet affected by the epidemic, it would seem that Zambon seeks the approval of the health minister Speranza to proceed with the publication of his report. "I would consider it necessary, to be on the safe side, a formal clearance from the minister," wrote the newspaper Repubblica last week. Things, as Zambon himself said, present in the studio in Giletti's broadcast aired last Sunday, are significantly different . The request for approval did not concern the report "but the procurement so that (the minister, ed ) indicates that he has no reservations in receiving the donation from Kuwait," explained Zambon.
Donation from the Government of Kuwait
The former WHO official refers to a donation of 5 million euros that the Government of Kuwait had allocated to help Italy in the very first months of the pandemic. The foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, announced the donation on 4 April last year from his social profiles. “I heard Ahmad Nasser , Kuwait's foreign minister, and he told me that his government, as part of a huge donation made to the World Health Organization to fight the virus, will allocate $ 5 million to Italy. Thanks Kuwait ”. Prior to this, Kuwait, on March 17, 2020, had already announced a donation of 40 million euros to help the World Health Organization fight Covid-19 .
I heard from my friend Ahmad Nasser, Kuwait's foreign minister, and he told me that his government, as part of a huge donation made to the WHO to fight the coronavirus, will allocate $ 5 million to Italy.
Thanks Kuwait.– Luigi Di Maio (@luigidimaio) April 4, 2020
Zambon's explanation
Kuwait's money should have been used for "the procurement of ultrasound scanners and oximeters that had to be purchased with two thirds of the 5 million euros that had been given by Kuwait to the WHO for support to Italy – Zambon told Massimo Giletti -. I write this because in making a purchase of 3 million I did not want there to be favoritism for some companies. So I ask that, to make those purchases, there was an approval from the CTS and the minister ”. The host of "Non è l'Arena" has been invective against the newspaper, which reported a partial version of what happened. " Repubblica tried to soil Zambon's figure – Giletti said – You can't publish a piece of an email without putting what's before and what's after".
Ultrasound systems and pulse oximeters
With Kuwait money, our country should have bought ultrasound scanners and oximeters . The former are indispensable machines for performing ultrasound scans, including thoracic ultrasound scans through which doctors understand if the lungs have been affected by bilateral Covid-19 pneumonia. The latter are very popular instruments, better known as pulse oximeters , which measure the level of oxygen in the blood.
What happened to the money from the Kuwait donation?
Kuwait had allocated 5 million euros to support Italy in the hardest phase of the pandemic. Of these 100 thousand euros were used to produce the WHO report edited by Francesco Zambon. Another three million euros “ returned to Kuwait because the ultrasound scanners and oximeters were never purchased – said Zambon -. The matter was followed by Dr. Ranieri Guerra and he was in direct contact with the Copenhagen office and with the ministry ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/litalia-ha-rispedito-al-kuwait-la-donazione-di-milioni-di-euro-contro-la-pandemia-parola-di-zambon-ex-oms/ on Tue, 18 May 2021 08:33:31 +0000.