China offers Guinea 5 mln USD to fight Ebola

CONAKRY - China has offered Guinea additional aid of 5 million US dollars to help in the fight against Ebola outbreak, an official source has said.

An agreement in this regard was signed on Wednesday in Conakry by Chinese ambassador to Guinea Bian Jianqiang and Guinea's International Cooperation Minister Moustapha Koutoubou Sanoh.

The money will be used for the purchase of 20 ambulances, 100 motorcycles, beds and protective equipments. In addition, China will send medical staff to train Guinean health workers on the prevention and control of Ebola virus.

"This additional aid from China will reinforce the efforts by the Guinean government in its daily battle to eradicate this outbreak which has become a major global concern," Sanoh said, noting that the "Guinean people will never forget those who stood with them during this trying moment."

The minister said at a time when almost 90 percent of foreign businesses were closing shops because of the Ebola outbreak, no Chinese business had left the Guinean territory, something he considers as "a strong sign of solidarity by the Chinese people towards Guinea."

Since April, the Chinese government has offered financial aid, medical materials and food aid to Guinea, to support the fight against Ebola.

The latest statistics by the World Health Organizaion show that out of 1,971 cumulative Ebola cases, 1,192 have died in Guinea.