Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have thanked the impoverished African nation where their daughter Shiloh was born by giving nearly £240,000 to help other babies. The donation will pay for equipment for the maternity wards at Namibia’s state hospitals in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. “We want to contribute to Namibia and the people who have been so gracious to us at this time,” Pitt and Jolie said in a statement.

The couple have been holed up at a luxury seaside retreat in the country since April to try to avoid the media spotlight as they awaited the birth of their first biological child. The Namibian government rallied to help them, putting tight security around their hotel and the hospital where baby Shiloh was born and setting up large barriers on the beach to shield them from the long lenses. Deputy environment and tourism deputy minister Leon Jooste said the couple’s donation of $300,000 (£233,700) would “contribute significantly” to the health of Namibian babies. They also gave $15,000 (£11,700) to a school and community centre they recently visited in Mondesa area.