China has been offering help to upgrade our health systems, Nabeela Tunis, minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone said in an interview with CGTN, after recalling the horrible Ebola virus epidemic a few years ago.
Sierra Leone experienced the worst Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016, which killed thousands of people.
According to Tunis, China is the first country to respond to the crisis by providing not just equipment, but personnel as well. She said that assistance from China would be remembered by the people forever.
Chinese mobile laboratory team get into a laboratory in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, amid an Ebola outbreak, January 23, 2015. /Xinhua Photo
Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio has set healthcare as their developing priorities, under their human capital development initiative, one of the four on its national development agenda.
"China has been very supportive," she said, adding that the Asian country has not just helped build medical centers within her country, but offered opportunities for Sierra Leonean medical students to go out and learn.
Growing investment from China
There has been an increase in investment from China, said Nabeela Tunis, minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone.
For Tunis, China is a very close friend to her country, and she hopes that momentum can last long.