Sierra Leone receives China-donated COVID-19 vaccines

Sierra Leone has received a shipment of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines at an airport in Freetown, capital of the country, on Feb 25.

Sierra Leone's Acting Minister of Health and Sanitation Anthony Augustine Sandi, Deputy Foreign Minister Solomon Jamiru and Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Hu Zhangliang received the vaccines at the airport. 

Currently the global vaccine supply gap is huge and China is overcoming its tight vaccine supply to donate vaccines to Sierra Leone, which shows that China honors its solemn pledge of making Chinese COVID-19 vaccines a global public good with concrete actions, and vividly embodies the two countries' traditional friendship of mutual support and sharing weal and woe.

China will earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state on the development of relations between the two countries and will work with Sierra Leone to promote China-Sierra Leone comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new phase so as to create more benefits to the two countries and two peoples, said Hu.

On behalf of the Sierra Leonean president, government and people, Sandi and Jamiru sincerely thanked the Chinese government and people for providing valuable COVID-19 vaccine assistance to their country at a time when the world is facing huge challenges in fighting against the pandemic. This will greatly enhance Sierra Leone's confidence and capability in the anti-pandemic efforts, they said.

They said that a friend in need is a friend indeed, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. China has long provided tremendous support to Sierra Leone's development in various fields including healthcare, education, agriculture and infrastructure. This vaccine donation shows again that the two nations share a long-standing, solid, harmonious and strong friendship.