The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) continues to be grateful for the ongoing support by the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s), along with other donor partners, towards ensuring that the Ministry is well prepared to combat possible entry and outbreak of COVID-19.
Following the siging of the hand over certificate on Wednesday more Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) will be made available.
The PPEs include 2500 medical disposable protective clothing, 5000 surgical masks, 500 medical facial masks, 500 medical protective goggles and 100 infrared themodetector.
Following the signing, Yao Ming Deputy Head of Chinese Embassy in Solomon Islands stated that the government and people of China is pleased to provide the support to the Solomon Islands government through the Health Ministry to assist in Its preparedness and response to COVID-19.
“It is indeed a pleasure to be handing over these PPEs to help the ministry, especially the frontline health workers and their supporting staff, in their efforts to track and combat any entry and spread of this deadly virus as well as enabling them to perform their COVID19 operations in a safe manner”, highlighted Mr. Ming.
He further added that the handing over of these PPEs is part and parcel of the overall support that PRC has continued to render to the government and people of Solomon Islands in light of COVID-19 and more importantly demonstrates PRC’s commitment and dedication towards its bilateral partnership with Solomon Islands.
In response, Minister of Health and Medical Services Honorable Dickson Mua acknowledged the continuous support of PRC stating that it will greatly assist the Ministry in its current efforts to ensure Solomon Islands remain COVID-19 free but also provide safety for its frontline and supporting staff when conducting health checks at the borders.
“On behalf of the Ministry I would like to thank the government and people of China for this generous donation which will go a long way in assisting the Ministry to effectively and safely perform their duties in protecting and preserving the health of its people”. Stated Minister Mua.
Mr. Mua also explained the Ministry’s need to supply PPEs at the provincial health facilities especially those at the country’s borders is also a priority. “With our current efforts to build capacity and enable our provincial health workers to tackle possible entry of COVID-19 by sea, these supplies will go a long way in enabling them to perform their duties effectively in a safe manner”.
The first batch of the supplies were delivered from China to Honiara by air in the early May, the others were shipped from China to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and arrived in Honiara last week Friday.
The PPEs have been jointly checked by PRC and the Ministry of Health to confirm quality, quantity and specification of the PPEs.
Source: MHMS