China's anti-epidemic efforts hailed by Senegal

China has set a good example that can inspire other nations in coping with the COVID-19 outbreak, said Mamadou Ndiaye, Senegal's ambassador to China.

Ndiaye said it has taken less than three months for China to contain the outbreak, and this remarkable achievement is due to the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the patriotism of the Chinese people.

As of Tuesday, the Chinese mainland had reported zero indigenous confirmed or suspected infections from COVID-19 for three consecutive days, according to statistics from the National Health Commission.

"A lot of lessons can be learned from the way China has managed this pandemic," he said in a written interview with China Daily.

Since information and communication have proved to be essential in raising people's awareness and preventing unnecessary panic, Ndiaye said that in addition to common communication tools, the Chinese authorities have leveraged the capacity of communities to disseminate anti-epidemic measures and ensure that these measures are well understood by everyone.

China's positive achievements in fighting COVID-19 also highlight the efficiency of China's political governance as a crisis of this magnitude requires a strong and well-coordinated political engine that is able to adopt and implement the appropriate measures, according to the ambassador.

"To ensure that all the personnel and logistics are mobilized and appropriately dispatched, especially in the most affected areas, there's no better organization than the whole-of-government approach adopted by the Chinese leadership," he said.

Ndiaye said the fact that China has shared information with the World Health Organization since the early days of the outbreak has also helped the organization and other governments to better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Tuesday, Senegal had reported 1,271 confirmed cases and 10 deaths, according to the WHO.

The Senegalese ambassador said his country is grateful to China for providing much-needed support which came as China was still struggling with the pandemic.

Last month, the Chinese government delivered two shipments of anti-epidemic supplies to the Senegalese government.

Ndiaye also hailed the important contribution made by Chinese citizens and companies based in Senegal.

"Through various channels, they have expressed their solidarity with the Senegalese people. Likewise, many Senegalese nationals living in China have also contributed to the Chinese authorities' fight against COVID-19," he said.

"In a nutshell, this pandemic has revealed the spontaneity of the friendship between the two countries."

According to the ambassador, with COVID－19 spreading to African countries, the Chinese government recently decided to accelerate the construction of a continental center for diseases control and prevention which was a commitment that China made at the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit. Senegal is the current co-chair country of the forum on the African side.

A total of 47,118 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in African countries with 1,843 deaths and 15,587 recovered patients as of Tuesday, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This project is an important milestone in China-Africa health cooperation as it paves the way for wider collaboration between African and Chinese experts. It will also facilitate connectivity among African healthcare experts and institutions," said Ndiaye.

"No country is permanently immune from an outbreak of disease. Therefore, the international community must work in a coordinated manner to improve preparedness for epidemics," he added.