MAKKAH: The Muslim World League (MWL) has launched emergency initiatives to help 16 countries along with international organizations deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The emergency plan is in line with measures taken by the UN, the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments of the benefiting countries. Spokesperson Abdulwahab Al-Shehri said that the MWL is implementing the comprehensive plan to minimize the impact of the pandemic on countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. “The initiative’s first phase will cover 16 Muslim and non-Muslim countries, going from the league’s approach based on the noble Islamic values of righteousness and benevolence,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, MWL secretary-general, has asked the heads of the league’s offices around the world to directly cooperate with international organizations and governments to implement the initiative, he added. Al-Shehri said that the plan is being implemented through direct financial support, deliveries of medical equipment, and the supply of health, preventive and educational needs for health centers and hospitals, as well as food aid for vulnerable people. Direct financial support will include the WHO along with the governments and health ministries of affected countries. Aid will be carried out through the league’s strategic partnerships with governments and international organizations, which will then buy medical equipment and supplies to combat the virus. Public hospitals treating coronavirus cases will be equipped with intensive care beds, monitors, ventilators and oxygen cylinders along with medical accessories. Awareness brochures and integrated medical bags containing face masks and sterilizers will be distributed, and government buildings and institutions disinfected as part of the initiative. The MWL will support governments following WHO recommendations to limit the spread of the virus, such as locking down cities and home quarantine, by providing food to poor and disadvantaged communities, remote villages, orphans, elders and sick people unable to leave their houses. Convoys of trucks loaded with food baskets are being sent out daily to support needy families, Al-Shehri said. That MWL is also producing educational and awareness films, and using its communication platforms to highlight preventive measures, and the importance of home quarantine, social distancing and personal hygiene. Countries included in the plan’s first phase were Pakistan, Kashmir, South Africa, Malawi, Senegal, Chad, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Spain, Italy and Serbia.