Sierra Leone, China delegates meet to discuss biosafety project

Representatives of China and Sierra Leone met to discuss the second phase of the biological safety laboratory technical cooperation project on June 6.

The meeting — held in the African nation’s capital, Freetown — was attended by Antony Agustin Sandi, Sierra Leone’s vice-minister of health and sanitation, and Wu Peng, the Chinese ambassador.

The cooperation project is being funded by China and implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The general objective is to boost the country’s prevention and control of infectious disease.

Sandi said since the Ebola outbreak of 2015, China has worked with Sierra Leone to contain the disease, with great progress also made in efforts to improve the public health system.

However, the nation still faces many challenges such as an inadequate surveillance system, funding shortages and a lack of capacity, he said.

“Sierra Leone will take this opportunity to work with China to improve our surveillance system and emergency response capabilities,'he added.

Wu said: “The second phase is a continuous public health collaboration to strengthen the national surveillance system and early-response capacity to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.'

LI Xinhua, deputy director of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said his agency is an important strategic partner of Sierra Leone’s Health and Sanitation Ministry.

“We have demonstrated true friendship during the Ebola outbreak, and the China CDC will continually support Sierra Leone in strengthening its public health system and capacity building,'he said.