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The cargo aircraft have been sent to the Pacific island nation to assist with the COVID-19 response effort.
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Defence has accepted a request for assistance from the Solomon Islands government, deploying two Royal Australian Air Force C-27J Spartan cargo aircraft carrying medical equipment and other essential supplies for provinces hit with a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The support is expected to include the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers and emergency food aid to communities most impacted by the pandemic.
Additionally, six Australian-supplied ‘bricks’ of medical equipment and consumables will be distributed in provincial hospitals.
The 15 cubic metre “bricks”, assembled in Brisbane, contain oxygen equipment and consumables, medication and PPE.
This latest commitment follows the deployment of an Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) to the Solomon Islands last month, which is working in partnership with Health officials in Honiara.
The Commonwealth government’s combined support to the Solomon Islands has included the provision of 300,800 AstraZeneca vaccine doses, and 19 tonnes of emergency medical supplies – including 100 oxygen concentrators.
This is the ADF’s latest regional support mission, with the military also assisting with the supply of humanitarian aid to Tonga following the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano and subsequent tsunami.
Australia’s support for Tonga was recently broadened to include the restoration of power and communications, the storage and effective delivery of relief supplies, and further recovery efforts on the outer islands most affected.
[Related: RAAF C-17A Globemaster transports AUSMAT team to Solomon Islands]
