A Chinese medical team was honored in New York City Saturday for its role in patient care and disease prevention during last year's Ebola crisis in Africa.

Kong Qingyu, chief of the 23rd Chinese Medical Team to Guinea, vice president of Beijing Anzhen Hospital and an expert in heart and vascular disease, accepted the South-South Awards on the team's behalf at a ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

"The 19 medical staff on the Chinese Medical Team had, directly or indirectly, contact with Ebola patients and were exposed to the risk of infection. The team members, in the face of death, never stepped back; instead, they stayed at their posts, united closely and successfully completed the task fearlessly," the awards announcement said.

The team, led by Kong, arrived at China-Guinea Friendship Hospital in August 2012 for a two-year assignment in Africa. Kong was vice president at the hospital. In March 2014, the ebola epidemic first broke out in Guinea, and China-Guinea Friendship Hospital received the first case. The disease spread and six of the nine medical staff infected died. In this critical situation, Kong chose to release information to the public on the virus and infections, started quarantines and treatment, reported to WHO and formulated contingency plans.

Now in its fifth year, the South-South Awards promotethe implementation of the Millennium Development Goals around the world by recognizing exceptional contributions on the part of heads of states and government and business and civil society leaders, as well as leading philanthropists and top celebrities.

The 2015 South-South Awards event was held in support of the United Nations Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

The event is sponsored and supported by the permanent missions of member states to the United Nations, United Nations agencies, the South-South Steering Committee for Sustainable Development, the International Organization for South-South Cooperationand philanthropic foundations and charities.

Hong Xiao in New York contributed to this story.