On Thursday, the Chinese government donated an additional 2.2 million doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Ethiopia, giving a boost to the East African nation’s vaccination efforts.
The handover ceremony for the latest donated vaccines was visited by Ethiopian government officials and the Chinese diplomatic community members.
China has donated around 7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ethiopia, which the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said is playing a crucial role in combating the virus.
During the handover ceremony, Lia Tadesse, Ethiopian Minister of Health, said that the latest Chinese donated vaccines saved lives as part of the Ethiopian government’s efforts to vaccinate its people against COVID-19.
“Today’s donation of 2.2 million Sinopharm vaccines is helping to access the vaccines to our communities and protect from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Tadesse said.
The Ethiopian health minister stressed that China’s support is not only limited to the COVID-19 vaccines.”Within the pandemic, there have been several supports with regards to prevention, treatment, detection, and testing,” Tadesse said.
“We express our appreciation for this continued solidarity and support to avert this pandemic and also the continued support of the government of China in other areas of the health sector beyond COVID-19,” she added.
Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, Zhao Zhiyuan, said that the Chinese government-donated vaccines play a vital role in Ethiopia’s efforts in combating COVID-19.
“Everyone knows China and Ethiopia are good brothers and sisters, and we are always supporting each other. China cherishes and pays good attention to Ethiopia’s friendship, and we will continue to support Ethiopia to fight against COVID-19,” said Zhao.
The Chinese ambassador stressed that China would further strengthen its vaccine support to Ethiopia in 2022.
Ethiopia has administered 10,965,479 doses to 9,369,036 people, based on the latest stats from the Ministry of Health.
According to the data, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country reached 459,959, while death toll from the pandemic reached 7,190 as of Wednesday evening.
According to the ministry, Chinese-donated vaccines are among East Africa’s most administered COVID-19 vaccines.
As part of its initiative to make its vaccines a global public good, China is presently playing a crucial role in vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries, including Ethiopia.
