Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Spokesman Sun Jiwen commented on the progress of implementing the Chinese government’s fourth round of aid at a value of 500 million yuan to west African countries in coping with Ebola announced by President Xi Jinping on January 13, 2015.
Sun said the Chinese relief supplies to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in fighting against Ebola had got ready and began to be delivered by air and ship from January 12, following China’s efforts to dispatch medical teams, set up medical centers and provide financial assistance to the African countires.
Sun also said this batch of supplies were worth 100 million yuan with a weight of about 800 tons, including sickbeds, ambulances, pickups, motorcycles, forklifts, personal protective equipment, health care products and incinerators, aiming to help the three countries improve their ability to accept, cure and transfer patents as well as the ability to disinfect and deal with medical waste. Since this batch of supplies were in large quantity costing a large amount of money, covering a great kinds of products and requiring a long stock up cycle, and being difficult to transport, the Ministry of Commerce worked jointly with the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to collect resources and arrange transportation, and made close contacts with China’s embassies in the African countries to help recipient countries coordinate relevant receiving work and put them into use as soon as possible so as to give their role into full play.
Since the outbreak of Ebola in some west African countries in March 2014, the Chinese government has responded positively and provided the Ebola-stricken countries with four batches of humanitarian aid with a total value of 750 million yuan in April, August, September and October 2014 respectively.
