China Provides 300,000 Dose of CoVID-19 Vaccines to Ethiopia

(ENA) The government of china has donated 300,000 doses of CoVID-19 Vaccines to Ethiopia, particularly to support the education sector.

Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia  Zhao Zhiyuan handed over the vaccines to Health Minister Dr. Lia Tadesse and Education Minister Dr. Getahun Mekuria,  in a ceremony held at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport today.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Lia said the support will be utilized for the education sector, especially for teachers across the nation as they are vulnerable part of the society for COVID-19 due to their job.

Accordingly, some 150,000  teachers  will be vaccinated for COVID-19 in two rounds, she added.

“Today the government of China has donated additional 300,000 doses of COVID-19 Vaccines. Hence, some 150,000 teachers will get the vaccines in two rounds. As you know the vaccines are being given to people that are more vulnerable to the pandemic as there is shortages. In this regard, teachers are one of the vulnerable communities,” the Minister stated.

Lia commended  the Chinese government and people  for their support  to Ethiopia.

Minister of Education, Dr. Eng. Getahun Mekuria, on his part  said many teachers have lost their lives due to the pandemic  last year alone.

The vaccines donated by the government of China will play pivotal role in creating a safe teaching and learning environment.

According to him, out of  700,000 teachers across the country, 50,000 have so far been vaccinated in Addis Ababa.

Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, Zhao Zhiyuan said that his country is committed to help tackle the challenge of the pandemic in Ethiopia.

The Ambassador stated that the government of China has so far donated 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ethiopia.

The vaccines are being given to people engaged health, defense and education sectors, he added.

According to the ambassador, his country will continue to help Ethiopia in the fight against the virus through various channels.

The government of China is also committed to deepening cooperation with Ethiopia on Education sector and capacity building, the ambassador said.

It is to be recalled that Ministry of Health last week had received 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated from the United Kingdom (UK).

So far, more than 2.3 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 across the nation, it was learned.

Source: Ethiopia News Agency