Sierra Leone on Thursday received a consignment of 200,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China to support the country's vaccination campaign.

Health authorities in Sierra Leone said the vaccine will "play an important role in preventing and containing the COVID-19 in the country."

Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Hu Zhangliang said: "We are supporting Sierra Leone with the COVID-19 vaccine at a time when countries around the world are struggling to have the vaccine."