China goes ahead with its anti-Ebola aid

BEIJING - China is delivering more supplies and pledges to the West African countries struggling to quench the Ebola outbreak.

China handed over on Friday anti-Ebola supplies worth 5 million yuan (about $810,000) to Ghana, including protective clothing and goggles, sprayers, gauze masks, body thermometers as well as temperature monitors.

China rushes help to Ebola-hit countries

Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Sun Baohong said China and Africa are a community of shared destiny and that the Chinese government and people would always stand side by side with Africa to tide over this difficult time.

"I firmly believe that, as long as the international community stands united in mind and in action, we will achieve the final victory in the fight against the Ebola epidemic at an early date," she said.

The Chinese government highly appreciates Ghana's leading and exemplary role in assisting its neighbors in fighting the deadly disease, Sun said.

Ghanaian Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah expressed gratitude to the government of China for its donation when Ghana is preparing, as part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to support the eradication of Ebola from the sub-region.

"This donation will go a long way to give impetus, motivation and assurance of the highest available protection to health workers who have sacrificed to be trained to be the front-liners to interventions against Ebola," he said.

Also on Friday, China and Sierra Leone, one of the three hardest hit West African countries, signed an agreement in Freetown, under which China is to build a permanent laboratory in Sierra Leone, as the battle against the disease intensifies.

Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Zhao Yanbo, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Chinese government, said that China has realized the challenges Sierra Leone is facing in its health care delivery service, especially with the outbreak of the Ebola disease.

That is why China has made emergency medical aid to support the government and people of Sierra Leone to fight the disease, Zhao said.

Zhao said the laboratory is to help the country fight any further outbreak of any other tropical diseases.