Chinese Ambassador Zhao Yanbo Handed Over Emergency Humanitarian Anti-Ebola Medical Materials to Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma

2014/08/15 On August 12, Chinese Ambassador handed over a batch of emergency humanitarian anti-Ebola medical materials valued at RMB 10 million Yuan (equally 1.63 million USD) to Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma at the State House of Sierra Leone.

Present at the ceremony were Dr. Samura Kamara, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Ebun Adebola Strasser-King, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Mr. Foday Sawi, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation. Ambassador Zhao and President Koroma delivered speeches respectively at the ceremony.

   Ambassador Zhao commended the positive efforts made by the Sierra Leonean government in fighting against Ebola. He stated that the Chinese Government and people followed closely the development of Ebola in Sierra Leone, got to know quickly what Sierra Leone needed most, and made a prompt decision to provide more emergency medical aid to Sierra Leone at the earliest possible time. 

He pointed out that this was another demonstration of the brotherly relations between China and Sierra Leone. He hoped that the new batch of emergency medical materials will help Sierra Leone win the battle against Ebola at an early date. He also announced that three public health experts from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will arrive in the country in the afternoon to provide training on the use of China-aided medical materials.

  In his response, President Koroma stated that China’s medical aid came at a difficult and challenging time in the history of Sierra Leone. He requested Ambassador Zhao to convey the heartfelt thanks of the Sierra Leonean government and people to Chinese President Xi Jinping for the timely and much-needed medical material support and the arrival of public health experts in helping his government fight against Ebola. He pointed out that China’s medical support further strengthened Sierra Leone’s capabilities and confidence in winning the battle against Ebola. He also commended what the Chinese doctors and nurses did in helping Sierra Leonean government contain Ebola and expressed his sympathy and good wishes to the Chinese doctors and nurses who were quarantined for providing treatment to confirmed Ebola patients.

  At the ceremony, Ambassador Zhao signed the hand-over certificate of the above-mentioned medical materials with Deputy Minister Foday Sawi of Health and Sanitation on behalf of their respective governments.