Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – China has donated US$2 million to the African Union Commission to support the AU response to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), the AU said Friday.
The Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia and the AU, Xie Xiaoyan, lauded the creation of ASEOWA mission and called for more international support to the efforts to combat Ebola.
The Chinese donation came as the AU welcomed US President Obama’s announcement of US$750 million additional support for member states to respond effectively to the Ebola epidemic and the humanitarian crisis in West Africa.
The AU Commissioner of Social Affairs, Dr. Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, thanked the Chinese Government for its response to the fight against Ebola. He described Africa’s partnership with China as fruitful.
The AU official said the organization was keen to undertake measures to prevent the further spread of the epidemic.
Kaloko called for collaborative action amongst African States and partners to curb the Ebola epidemic as a matter of urgency.
The first batch of health volunteers to be deployed to Liberia under the ASEOWA operations left Addis Ababa this week.
The next set of volunteers will be deployed to Sierra Leone and Guinea, respectively.
The current epidemic is the biggest and most complex that the world has experienced since the first human outbreak occurred in 1976.
At least, 4,985 people have been infected and 2,461 deaths reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 16 September, 2014.
“Every outbreak of Ebola over the past 40 years has been contained, and the AU is confident that this one will be contained as well,” said the Kaloko.
The epidemic is not only a health issue, but also affects the political and economic well-being of our member states, the AU official said.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
