China-donated COVID-19 vaccine arrives in DR Congo

A shipment of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Chinese government arrived in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on Sept 29.

Chinese Ambassador to the DRC Zhu Jing and Health Minister of DRC Jean-Jacques Mbungani attended the handover ceremony at the airport. Other attendees of the event included Véronique Kilumba, deputy health minister of the DRC, and representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the DRC.

The DRC and China are sincere partners with long-term friendship and mutual assistance. The DRC deeply appreciates the vaccine donation from China when his country is at the  critical stage in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said Mbungani in his speech during the ceremony.

Mbungani said the China-developed COVID-19 vaccine, which has won global recognition for its safety and efficacy, will effectively help the DRC fight the virus and enhance the immunity of its people. Vaccines are a powerful weapon to defeat the pandemic, and he hopes the Congolese people would get vaccinated as soon as possible to secure the country's victory of the anti-pandemic battle at an early date, he added.

The virus knows no borders. It is a common enemy of humanity, said Zhu. Since the beginning of the pandemic, China and the DRC have shared weal and woe together in the fight against COVID-19, writing a vivid chapter in the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future. The latest shipment of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines demonstrates once again the solidarity of the Chinese people with the Congolese people, he said.

The vaccine honors China's commitment to make the COVID-19 vaccine a global public good, and represents the concrete efforts made by China to promote fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. As a strategic partner of the DRC, China will continue to do its best to assist the DRC until the final victory, said Zhu.