Health Minister Commends Chinese Embassy for donating Medical Equipment

By Foday Moriba Conteh

The Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone ,H.E. Hu Zhangliang, handed over a batch of most needed medical materials, plus one 50 kw generator, donated by the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese community in Sierra Leone to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation on March 19th, 2020. The Minister of Health and Sanitation ,Dr. Alpha Wurie, Chief Medical Officer Mr. Samba and representatives from  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, heads of China-Sierra Leone friendship organizations, heads of the three Chinese Medical Teams in Sierra Leone and newsmen and newswomen from the fourth estate graced the event.

In his statement, Ambassador Hu averred that under the staunch leadership of H.E. President Xi Jinping, China has effectively kept the COVID-19 pandemic under control and things are turning better in China. He said that though COVID-19 was first discovered in China, it does not necessarily mean that it originated from China. He stressed that characterizing the pandemic as “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus” is unacceptable, immoral and ill-intentioned. He emphasized that the donation is a show of strong solidarity and genuine friendship between China and Sierra Leone.

Ambassador Hu commended H.E. President Julius Maada Bio and his Government for exerting strong leadership to keep COVID-19 away from Sierra Leone. He said despite all the challenges at home, China will continue to share experience with and provide necessary assistance to Sierra Leone within her capacity.

Hon. Minister Wurie thanked China for the prompt support at this crucial moment. He said that a friend in need is a friend in deed. He stated that China is always among the first to extend a helping hand to Sierra Leone when need arises. The Hon. Minister emphasized that the medical materials donated by China would significantly enhance Sierra Leone’s capacity of prevention and control of COVID-19. President of Sierra Leone-China Friendship Society, Dr. Joe Conteh shared the same feeling.

The donated items include 500 sets of protective gowns, 500 N95 masks, 1,000 surgical masks, 1,000 pairs of medical gloves, 200 medical goggles and one 50 kw generator. In addition to this, the Chinese has urgently equipped the Chinese CDC experts and military expert group working in Sierra Leone with testing kits which enables them to conduct 1,000 person-time COVID-19 testing altogether.

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