Zambia receives another 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China

A new shipment of 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China to Zambia arrived at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Zambian capital city Lusaka on April 23.

Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Zambia Lai Bo and Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Lackson Kasonka of Zambia attended the vaccine handover ceremony. 

Lai said China and Zambia are all-weather friends and anti-pandemic partners. The Chinese government has donated anti-pandemic materials and vaccines to Zambia five times in the past two years. He added that the timely arrival of this shipment brought the total amount of vaccines donated by China to Zambia to 1.1 million doses, and will help Zambia achieve its target vaccination rate of 70 percent by the end of June this year.

Lai said the Chinese government is willing to continue to provide COVID-19 vaccine assistance when Zambia needs it. 

Kasonka said public health is an important indicator of the country's development and progress. The Zambian government is committed to improving public health and doing its best to control COVID-19 in order to prevent it from causing devastating damage to economic and social development. 

On behalf of the Zambian government, Kasonka sincerely thanked the Chinese government and people for their continuous and great help in fighting COVID-19. He added that this shipment of vaccines will help accelerate the vaccination process and achieve the country's vaccination goal.