国际英语新闻:China goes ahead with its anti-Ebola aid

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- 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 U.S. dollars) to Ghana, including protective clothing and goggles, sprayers, gauze masks, body thermometers as well as temperature monitors.

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.

Since the outbreak of Ebola, the Chinese government has taken the lead in responding to the appeal of the affected countries and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Starting from April this year, China, the first foreign country to provide assistance to the affected nations, has delivered three batches of emergency relief items to the affected countries. The fourth batch is under way.

In addition to providing fund, food, and disease prevention materials, China also set up laboratories and holding centers and sent expert groups and medical teams to the affected countries.

On Friday in Beijing, China pledged to continue its assistance to those African countries.

"China's assistance will not stop as long as the Ebola epidemic (continues) in West Africa," said Lin Songtian, director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's African Affairs Department.

So far, China has directed aid worth 122 million dollars in four batches to West African countries.

The fourth batch of assistance, announced on Friday for the construction of a 100-bed treatment center in Liberia, will be managed and operated by a medical team from the People's Liberation Army (PLA), said Lin.

The treatment center will be the only one in the three epidemic-stricken countries that is constructed, staffed and operated by a foreign country, Lin added.