Ambassador Le Yucheng: China Making joint efforts with international community to Fight Ebola
2014-10-13 15:04

According to the World Health Organization's report released on October 8, the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has reached 3,865 people, and more than 8,000 people have been infected. I am deeply shocked and saddened by the tragedy.

Since the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, the Chinese government and people have shown their sympathy by taking the lead to offer instant assistance, such as cash, epidemic prevention materials and food. Up to October 10, China's aid had reached 350 million yuan totally, which will continue and expand based on the real need. In April, we announced to provide Ebola relief worth 1 million yuan (about 163,000 U.S. dollars) to Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau. In August, we delivered a second batch of emergency humanitarian aid which worth 30 million yuan in total, including medical protective clothes, disinfectants, thermo-detectors and medicines.

On September 18 during the state visit to India, President Xi Jinping announced that in order to support Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and other countries in combating the Ebola epidemic, help neighboring countries of the affected areas to build up epidemic prevention ability, encourage relevant international and regional organizations to carry on with their leading and coordinating role in the fight against the epidemic, the Chinese government decided to provide, on top of the previous two batches of assistance, the aforementioned countries with 200 million RMB worth of emergency assistance in cash, food and goods, and the World Health Organization and the African Union each with two million US dollars worth of cash aid.

We have also sent, up till now, 174 medical experts to the affected areas to combat Ebola. On September 16, we dispatched a mobile laboratory to Sierra Leone to enhance the laboratory testing capacity for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the country. What China has done fully demonstrates that China and African countries are friends who support each other in adversity, and showcases the spirit of love upheld by the Chinese nation. Countries in the affected areas, the UN and the World Health Organization highly commend that.

The epidemic that is escalating and spreading in West Africa has posed grave challenges to the international community. We are ready to work side by side with countries around the world and make positive contributions to the fight against the epidemic and the effective prevention and control of the epidemic at an early date.

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