A plane carrying essential medical supplies for Africa has taken off from the southern Chinese city Guangzhou.

Bound for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, it's laden with 5.4 million face masks and over a million testing kits, as well as thousands of protective suits. The load is sponsored by China's Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation. The cargo will be distributed to all 54 African countries. A message is written on the containers, a quote from the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela: "When people are determined they can overcome anything." Africa has more than 1,000 confirmed cases in 41 countries.