China-donated COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Somalia

A shipment of China-donated vaccine arrived at the Somalian capital's Mogadishu International Airport on April 11.

Somalian Health Minister Fawziya Abikar Nur, Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayr, Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian attended the vaccine handover ceremony.

On behalf of the Somalian government and people, Nur sincerely thanked the Chinese government for the generous donation. He said that China is the first country to donate vaccine to Somalia.

The arrival of the vaccine will strongly promote the anti-pandemic efforts of Somalia and enhance Somalian people' confidence to defeat it, said Nur, adding that the Somalian government will start vaccine distribution nationwide and organize vaccination as soon as possible.

Abdi Hayr said that China is a sincere friend of Somalia. China's vaccine assistance is very timely and will give a strong boost to the Somalian people's fight against the pandemic. It is a strong support for Somalia.

Qin said that at the critical moment of pandemic prevention and control in Somalia, the Chinese side overcame such difficulties as a short vaccine supply and inconvenient transportation to provide the vaccine aid to Somalia. This fully shows the profound friendship between the two countries' people.

China has fulfilled its solemn commitment to making vaccines a global public good, promoted the equitable distribution of vaccines around the world, and made contributions to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries, said Qin.