China-aided urgently-needed medical supplies for fighting against COVID-19 in Ghana and other 17 Africa countries have arrived at the Kotoka International Airport.
Chinese Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Shi Ting WANG, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Ambassadors of West Africa countries to Ghana, Acting Resident Coordinator of United Nations, Representative and Country Director of WFP, Representative and Country Director of World Health Organisation and Depot Manager of UNHRD attended the ceremony.
The donations were 95 face masks, medical protective suits, goggles, gloves and medical facilities like exergen temporal artery thermometer and others, which are urgently-needed medical supplies for fighting against COVID-19.
In addition to Ghana, the other 17 beneficial countries are Nigeria, Senegal, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. The rest are Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Benin, Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe.
Ambassador Wang, in his speech, said that Ghana, as the aviation hub in the region, is the transit center for the materials.
He gave special thanks to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and the Ghana government for supporting and facilitating the transfer.
He also expressed deep appreciation to UNHRD for activating its dexterous and reliable distribution network accordingly for the rest of 17 African countries.
Ambassador Wang said that China itself has just tasted the bitterness of COVID-19 and is still recovering.
As for a country with the biggest population in the world, medical supplies in China are insufficient too.
He said that nearly every country in the world has asked for China’s help. During this tough time, medical items are in short supply because of great demand. Like masks and medical use protective suits, they are not available in the market. In face of such a huge challenge, we have managed to procure these supplies and get them here in chartered flight when all scheduled flights have come to a halt. It is not easy per say. This effort shows China’s firm commitment to China-Africa relations.
Ambassador Wang pointed out that China is always together with Africa. First, China has established an on-line training platform to share medical expertise with medical workers from Ghana and other African countries.
Second, China will continue to donate medical supplies to African countries. He talked to Jack Ma yesterday and has reached a consensus with him on this matter and many Chinese companies are also doing their best to help.
Third, the Chinese government will further strengthen medical cooperation with African countries in a bid to contain this pandemic.
Ambassador Wang said “that there is only one earth and we are the community with shared future. COVID-19 is the enemy of all humanity and needs a united response of all nations. People should not waste time on blame game, nor stigmatizing and politicizing other country’s efforts.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in response, commended China on the support of medical supplies to Ghana and other 17 African countries during such a critical time, and spoke highly on China-Ghana, China-Africa friendship.
She also gave special thanks to the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, for his coordination and appeal for support to African countries. She promised to handover the materials to the health services immediately and facilitate the distribution for the rest of 17 African countries.
Minister of Health, Mr Agyeman-Manu expressed his gratitude to China for the timely donation and hinted of the government’s readiness to collaborate more in the fight against this pandemic, especially with China which has amassed invaluable experiences.
Ambassador Mba Bela Abaha, Dean of African Diplomatic Corps in his speech, on behalf of the whole region, expressed gratitude to China’s timely support and said that China is a reliable friend to Africa and has always been there whenever Africa needed help.
