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Chinese envoy calls for relentless efforts toward Ebola's eradication

Xinhua, June 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday called for relentless efforts of the international community in fighting against Ebola until the epidemic is totally eradicated.

"With the progress still not solid and the upcoming rainy season, the international community should remain highly vigilant and make concerted efforts to provide more assistance to the affected countries," said Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, at the Informal Meeting on the Ebola Outbreak at the 69th Session of the General Assembly.

With the entry of these countries in the "post-Ebola" period, the international community should gradually shift the focus of its work to post-epidemic recovery and reconstruction, Wang said.

"The key in this aspect is to help strengthen the public health system of the affected countries and carry out pragmatic cooperation in disease prevention and control, personnel training, and pharmaceutical research and development and so on," Wang said.

China welcomes the relevant reform recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and supports Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in appointing the High-level Panel on Global Response to Health Crises, he said.

"We hope that the Panel will fully listen to views of all sides and put forward practicable recommendations for enhancing the capacity of the international community in responding to health crises," he added.

As a good partner and friend of Africa, the Chinese government stood with the continent in its time of difficulty, and provided a huge amount of assistance to the affected countries right after the Ebola outbreak, Wang said.

In addition, "China noticed the considerable gap in the UN Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund. We have already donated 6 million U.S. dollars and are considering more donations to further help the affected countries combat the epidemic, and attain economic recovery and social development," he said.

Also at the same meeting, the UN secretary-general applauded the progress made in fighting Ebola and warned of possible setbacks in case of lapse in vigilance.

Referring to the fact that Liberia was declared Ebola-free on May 9, Ban said that this is a remarkable progress in what was once the worst affected country. It proves the power of strong national leadership, proactive national responders and communities, and international support in solidarity with the country's people.

According to the latest case counts by the WHO, the Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 11,000 lives as of May 31, 2015, with West Africa being the hardest-hit region. Endi