Ethiopia receives third shipment of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines

The third shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China to Ethiopia arrived in the country's capital Addis Ababa on Aug 23. 

Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan, Ethiopian Health Minister Lia Tadesse and Education Minister Samuel Urkato went to the airport and attended the vaccine handover ceremony. 

Zhao said China has been following through on its commitment to improve vaccine accessibility and affordability. It has donated or is donating COVID-19 vaccines to over 100 countries and exported them to more than 60 nations, with a total amount of over 800 million doses, the most of any country in the world. China will strive to provide 2 billion doses of vaccines worldwide this year and donate $100 million to COVAX as part of its contribution to global anti-pandemic cooperation. 

The Federal Government of Ethiopia attaches great importance to education. The 300,000 vaccine doses it received in this batch will be mainly used in the field of education for the purpose of deepening Sino-Ethiopian cooperation in education and health and meeting the challenges of the pandemic together, Zhao said.

As a comprehensive strategic partner of Ethiopia, China will continue to work with the country to strengthen their cooperation in both the fight against the pandemic and in other fields, as well as provide support within its capacity, Zhao added.

Lia said that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government has provided a wide range of material and technical support to Ethiopia, and also made outstanding contributions to the global fight against the pandemic. 

The vaccine donation is timely and will help Ethiopia in its anti-pandemic efforts, as well as boost the country's vaccination rate. On behalf of the Ethiopian health department, Lia expressed sincere thanks to the Chinese government.

Urkato thanked the Chinese government for agreeing to use this vaccine donation in the field of education. About 700,000 teachers and 27 million students in Ethiopia are in urgent need of vaccination. The vaccines donated by the Chinese government will build a solid barrier against the pandemic for teachers and students throughout the country. 

Urkato promised to make good use of the valuable vaccines, focus on the long-term development of education in Ethiopia, and continue to promote Sino-Ethiopian cooperation in the field of education.