This disclosure was made by the head of delegation and Deputy Director General, China CDC, Dr George Gao Fu, during a courtesy call on President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma at State House.
Welcoming the team, President Koroma expressed profound delight to have China CDC back in the country, and thanked them for the sacrifices they made in 2014 during the height of the Ebola outbreak.
The president therefore thanked the visiting Chinese delegation for assisting government in strengthening the health sector. “We have to build resilience in the health sector; make it stronger in such a way that in the event we have any future epidemic, we would have the capacity to respond appropriately,” he said, and added that the move by China CDC is very much in sync with government’s programmes for rebuilding and strengthening the health sector.
Acknowledging China’s support to Sierra Leone, President Koroma stated that last week the 34 Military Hospital received a consignment of military charity aid from the Ministry of National Defence. He described the decision by China to construct a center for the control and prevention of tropical diseases and a new office for the Ministry of Health and Sanitation as a step in the right direction, for which the people of Sierra Leone were very much appreciative.
President Koroma underscored the significance of experience sharing; institutional capacity building as well as the training of personnel which were all in line with the national recovery priorities to ensure that the country has a resilient health sector.
Dr George Gao Fu, disclosed plans by the government of the People’s Republic of China to construct a center for the control and prevention of tropical diseases and a new office for the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone. He called for continuous collaboration for the training of health personnel in terms of preparedness and responsiveness for any future epidemic.
Dr Gao Fu vividly reflected on China’s experiences with SARS outbreak in 2003 and noted the lessons learnt thereafter from that outbreak. China CDC is globally known for its work in the fields of disease control and prevention, public health management and provision of services.
