Ghana takes delivery of Covid-19 medical supplies from China
Ghana's effort to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been given a major boost with the arrival of over 38,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical materials from China.
The PPE for Ghana include 3,000 N95 face masks used by health workers; 10,000 protective face masks for mass usage; 2,500 medical protective suits; 2,500 medical goggles; 10,000 single use gloves; 10,000 disposable shoe covers and 800 infrared thermometers.
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The items are part of 60 tonnes of materials that have been donated to Ghana and 17 other African countries for the fight against the disease.
Distribution hub
The items, which arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on board a chartered Chinese aircraft, would be distributed from Ghana to the other African countries with the support of the World Food programme (WFP) Ghana office.
The other African countries are Nigeria, Senegal, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Liberia and Mali.
The rest are Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Benin, Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Handover
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, led a government delegation, which included the Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, to receive the items.
The Guinean Ambassador and Dean of the West African Diplomatic Corps, Mr Mba Bela Abaha, joined the Ghanaian delegation to receive the items on behalf of the other 17 West African countries.
The Chinese Ambassador, Mr Shi Ting Wang, who handed the items over to the officials, announced China's decision to use Ghana as the transit centre for the COVID-19 support to the West African region.
More support
Mr Wang said the decision to donate to African countries even in the midst of excessive demand for PPE showed that China was committed towards consolidating its relations with Africa.
He added that China was ready to support Africa and the rest of the world in various capacities, including sharing of technology and best practices to help deal with the pandemic.
As part of the support systems, the ambassador said, China had established an online training platform to share medical expertise on the COVID-19 pandemic with Ghana and other African countries.
The Chinese Ambassador also hinted that more support was in the pipeline for Ghana and other African countries towards defeating COVID-19.
He revealed that the Jack Ma Foundation, which recently donated a consignment of medical equipment to Ghana, was willing to give more PPE in the coming days.
“I called Jack Ma just yesterday and asked if he could give more medical support to Ghana and other African countries and he promptly agreed to get more of the items ready”.
Besides, many Chinese companies are also doing their best to support,” he said.
Unity
Mr Wang said there was the need for unity of purpose by all countries and the harmonisation of efforts to fight the pandemic instead of tackling it in isolation.
“We should not waste time on blame games or stigmatising and politicising other countries’ efforts. Instead, we should stay united because unity will give us power to overcome the challenge,” he stressed.
Timely donation
Ms Botchwey described the arrival of the PPE as timely, and that it would facilitate efforts that the government was making to fight COVID-19.
She said the PPE was particularly crucial because frontline health workers needed it most to stay safe while helping to save lives.
The Foreign Minister noted that the gesture by China was a testament to the exemplary relationship that existed between China and Africa and also demonstrated that the world needed to unite to win the war against common enemies for development.
“This donation is a sign of China’s sense of reciprocal solidarity for African countries in this challenging time. Indeed, in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak of the virus in China, African leaders supported their Chinese counterpart. This reciprocal gesture, therefore, shows that when we are united, we can win the fight,” she said.
Bilateral relations
Ms Botchwey also said the donation of the PPE demonstrated the importance of consolidating the China-Africa relationship for mutual benefit.
“This donation comes at a time we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the bilateral relations between Ghana and China. It is in this regard that the donation should not be viewed as humanitarian aid to Africa but rather, a manifestation of the 60 years of collective resolve to broaden and consolidate the relationship,” she added.
