KINSHASA, Aug. 26 — China has long supported the development of the health sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and remains an important and priority partner, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said Wednesday.
Kamba made the remarks at a handover ceremony in the capital, Kinshasa, for China’s emergency humanitarian assistance to the DRC. Chinese Ambassador to the DRC Zhao Bin and Kamba signed handover certificates for three assistance projects at the ceremony.
Kamba said China responded swiftly after a new Ebola outbreak was declared in the DRC in May, providing emergency assistance at an early stage and dispatching three successive batches of medical experts to support the African country’s outbreak response.
Anti-epidemic supplies and funds provided by China have already been put into use on the front lines of the response and have offered strong support for the DRC’s efforts to contain the outbreak, he said.
China has provided sustained support for the development of the DRC’s health sector over the years and remains an important and priority partner in the field, Kamba said.
Noting China’s remarkable achievements in health care, Kamba said the DRC hopes to establish a long-term and structural health cooperation relationship with China and further deepen exchanges and cooperation across the health sector.
Zhao said the China-DRC health cooperation has a solid foundation and constitutes an important part of friendly cooperation between the two countries.
In response to the latest Ebola outbreak, China moved quickly to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and sent three consecutive batches of medical experts to the DRC, supporting the country’s epidemic response and efforts to safeguard people’s health through concrete actions, Zhao said.
Such support reflects the deep friendship between the peoples of China and the DRC, who have stood together and helped each other in times of difficulty, he added.
Zhao said China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with the DRC, promote the signing of a bilateral health cooperation agreement at an early date, further improve cooperation mechanisms, and deepen practical cooperation in health care, particularly in public health.
China will also continue to provide assistance within its capacity to help the DRC strengthen disease prevention and control as well as its broader health-care capacity, he said. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
