Caring About Health

Health cooperation with China benefits African people

- Xia Yuanyuan

Solomon Ayele, a nurse at an Ethiopian hospital, is on the front-line of the war against the COVID-19 pandemic, as Africa braces for the peak of the pandemic.

On July 12, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpassed 570,000 on the continent, according to the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and along with rising figures, an equally worrying factor is the lack of medical supplies.

Fortunately, African countries have already proactively implemented prevention and control measures. And to their credit, the international community has also stepped in to help.

More and more medical supplies from China and other countries have been distributed to health workers like Ayele, to help them combat the virus. Part of the cooperation includes a 12-member Chinese medical expert team that arrived in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on April 16.

The arrival of Chinese experts gave Ayele hope. “The materials [they brought] will help fill the existing gaps in terms of the pressing shortage of preventive materials and testing kits in Ethiopia and beyond, while the guideline and suggestions from Chinese experts will also help us respond to the epidemic with the latest knowledge based on China’s experience,” he told Xinhua News Agency.