The Isle of Man has sent £800,000 to support Covid-19 work in Madagascar and South Africa.

The funds have been given to the World Health Organisation (WHO), that has identified a number of countries where there are significant funding gaps in tackling the pandemic.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said: ’We have heard time and again that no one is safe until everyone is safe. A pandemic does not respect nationality or international borders.

’We must tackle Covid-19 collectively, as a global community. The rapid spread of Covid has shown us how globally connected we are and I am delighted that the Isle of Man can support the World Health Organization in its vital work to respond to the pandemic.’

Madagascar was selected as it continues the Isle of Man’s efforts to support small islands and countries, particularly those ranked ’low development’, while South Africa was chosen because of funding gaps in the country’s Covid-19 response, and to reflect the Island’s positive cultural, historical and business links.

The money will be used in areas including vaccine roll out, transmission suppression and protection of the vulnerable.

The £800,000 in funding comes from an underspend in the 2020/21 international development budget, which was unable to be allocated, with the government focussed on responding to the pandemic.