15 October 2022 12:00 am Views - 209
“Since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations 65 years ago, our two countries and peoples have always been understanding and supporting each other. The COVID-19 pandemic and domestic economic crisis has brought severe difficulties to Sri Lanka, and its public health sector is especially faced with unprecedented challenges.
We feel for our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters, and will continue our support to the health sector of Sri Lanka to the best of our capacity:
Firstly, China has been the biggest donor and supplier of PPEs, test kits and vaccines to Sri Lanka throughout the pandemic, which largely helped the island to win the battle against COVID-19.
Secondly, to tackle the CKDu (chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology) in Sri Lanka, China has handed over the National Nephrology Hospital in Polonnaruwa, the Joint Research and Demonstration Centre for Water Technology in the University of Peradeniya, and 8 kidney disease mobile labs to the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka and brought into operation in the last year.
Thirdly, various batches of medicines worth 22.5 million RMB (about 1.2 billion LKR) donated by China under its 500 million RMB emergency humanitarian assistance have already arrived in Sri Lanka and largely relieved its medicine shortage. In the coming months, more medical supplies with a total value of 5 billion rupees will be handed over to Sri Lanka and delivered to hospitals and patients across the island.
Moreover, the biggest China-aid project so far, a brand-new National Hospital OPD Centre in Colombo which can accommodate 6,000 patients daily, will be soon opened to Sri Lankan people,” he said.