# 2304
Japan has made a sizable commitment to the member nations of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to provide them with Tamiflu and PPE's (Personal Protective Equipment).
Their donations are eventually expected to reach 1 million courses of Tamiflu and 700,000 sets of PPEs.
Singapore has been selected to serve as a regional stockpile location for ASEAN member nations.
ASEAN consists of 10 member nations :
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
VietNam
S'pore receives Tamiflu, personal protective equipment from Japan
By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia |Posted: 16 September 2008 1838 hrs
SINGAPORE : Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday received over 3,960 courses of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) and 35,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Embassy of Japan.
Japanese Ambassador Makoto Yamanaka handed the stockpile over to the ministry's Permanent Secretary Yong Ying-I at an official ceremony on Tuesday.
The provisions to Singapore are part of the government of Japan's overall donation of 1 million courses of Tamiflu and 700,000 sets of PPE to ASEAN.
Half of it would be distributed to the respective ASEAN member countries, while the remaining would be stockpiled in Singapore.
An MOH spokesperson said Singapore is honoured to be entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the regional stockpile, and to facilitate the distribution of Tamiflu and PPE to affected areas in the region.
She added that the MOH will endeavour to facilitate the delivery and distribution of the stockpile as efficiently and reliably as possible, should the need ever arise.
Singapore deeply appreciates Japan's generous donation of Tamiflu and PPE to ASEAN and Singapore to protect against a potential pandemic influenza in the region. - CNA/ms
