The Chinese embassy in Namibia handed over 40 000 masks to the City of Windhoek on Friday afternoon as part of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The masks were donated by Suzhou municipal government, a sister city of Windhoek in eastern China.
“The Covid-19 cases in Namibia have seen an obvious surge recently; thus, the donation from Suzhou comes at the right time,” Yang Jun, the deputy head of the Chinese embassy said at the handover ceremony.
Yang said the people of China and Namibia share a common destiny.
“We hope the donation could contribute to Windhoek’s anti-pandemic efforts,” he stated.
Receiving the donation on behalf of the City of Windhoek, Chris Eita, the external relations divisional manager, said the donation meets Namibia’s urgent need for personal protective equipment (PPE), since Windhoek is at a critical moment in fighting against Covid-19.
This is not the first time that Chinese municipalities are supporting Namibia’s Covid-19 pandemic efforts. In May and June this year, Windhoek received 20 000 N95 masks and 30 000 medical masks, respectively, from Shanghai and Nanjing, sister cities of Windhoek.
On 16 June, 50 000 of masks donated by Jiangsu Province were handed over to Khomas region. Chongqing, another sister city of Windhoek, located in southwestern China, provided the Namibian capital with 5 000 medical gloves, 700 protective suits, 700 isolation gowns and 400 forehead thermometers.
Yang added that following President Hage Geingob’s visit to Suzhou in April 2018, the mayors of Suzhou and Windhoek exchanged visits afterwards.
“The agreement to establish sister cities between Suzhou and Windhoek was officially signed in September 2019,” he said. – ljason@nepc.com.na