Another milestone in Sino-Liberia relations

As a way of manifesting its presence in Liberia’s continuous battle against the deadly Ebola Virus, the People’s Republic of China has again contributed US$5m worth of medical supplies to the country.

The donation is in consonance with China’s desire to continue to assist Liberia in its Ebola battle, considering the fact that  the fight against the Ebola virus was not over in the three highly hit West African countries- Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

20 ambulances, 20 pick-up trucks,10 incinerators,100 motorcycles,150 hospital beds,4,000 sets of healthcare products, 60,000 sets of PPEs, as well as 20,000 bottles of hand-washing disinfectants and 215 infra-red thermometers are among the medical supplies.

Chinese Ambassador accredited near the Monrovia, Zhang Yue, while formally handing over the medical supplies at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium in Paynesville outside Monrovia on Monday, indicated that the fight against the Virus was like sailing upstream and without advancing meant retreating, emphasizing that the danger was still in the region, and that constant vigilance and hard efforts were still needed to ensure what will be achieved and sustained.

“Today, we are glad to see that people here not only know how to prevent Ebola, but also have a very professional team of workforce to contain and control the rapid spread of the deadly virus,” said Ambassador Zhang during Monday’s presentation ceremony, further extolling Liberians and the government for the aggressive awareness and the quick establishment of various treatment centers across the country with qualified expertise.

Again, this latest development by the People’s Republic of China is not just another milestone in Sino-Liberia Relations, but a show of deep concern for a people in distress and need of help against an invisible enemy.

While it is an agreeable fact that bilateral relations are on the basis of interest, China has and continues to stretch its ties with Liberia beyond political and economic interest as evidenced by its role in Liberia national health (Ebola) crisis.

In the true sense of courtesy and gratitude, the Government and people of China must be commended for such continuous interventions and encouragement to the people of Liberia.

Even more interesting, because Ebola is not the end of our journey, China has already set sight on post-Ebola recovery plan for Liberia, with the determination to share its experience and skills to help our nation restore and improve its public health and disease prevention system against recurrence of similar massive outbreak in the future.

 In deed China has been a true partner to Liberia, considering its numerous assistance we have received as a people and government.

We can only hope that as China and others continue to render such assistance against the presence of Ebola, we as a people must be upright in practically adhering to the various preventive measures prescribed by Liberian health authorities to avoid another countdown.