Workers place a banner reading "China Aid" on supplies which are to be loaded into an Air China 747-400 cargo plane at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on April 6 to Accra, Ghana. The 37.3 tons of supplies are part of China's aid to African countries to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: cnsphoto

While the whole world is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important for countries to unite instead of blaming one another, especially for China and African countries who share a tradition of friendship.

As of Tuesday, the COVID-19 pandemic had infected more than 16,200 and killed 873 people in 52 African countries.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said that group and community transmission has broken out in at least 16 African countries, which brought new challenges to underdeveloped healthcare systems in Africa.

In the meantime, with the pandemic spreading to rural areas on the continent, the situation becomes more serious as rural areas are more deficient in resources than cities.

African countries are taking stringent measures to curtail the pandemic. According to the African Union (AU), 43 countries out of its 55 members have locked their borders, and seven have suspended international flights. The rest of the AU members have adopted preventive measures.

With the outbreak continuing to spread across the African continent, the Chinese government, as well as Chinese communities and companies in Africa, have not hesitated to offer supplies and share experience, in return for support from African countries when China was being hit by the virus.

The virus is the common enemy of China and Africa. Only by being rational and tolerant and overcoming difficulties together can we overcome the epidemic, said a professor in Liberia.

Sharing experience

A 15-member medical team of experts from China bringing medical supplies, arrived in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Thursday. The team was sent by The China Railway Construction Corporation.

Nigerian Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire said the mission will strengthen the response in Nigeria based on lessons learned in China, Nigerian independent newspaper the Guardian reported.

Ehanire said the Chinese medical team will "provide first-hand experience and insights on how they were able to bring the spread of the disease under control."

Drawing on experience from China in epidemic control, Nigeria locked down its cities and expanded the scope of testing. Although the confirmed number is increasing, the country did see positive results.

Ethiopia has adopted strict orders to control the pandemic as more than 80 infected cases have been reported in the country. The Ethiopian Council of Ministers approved a regulation to prohibit handshaking and mandated citizens wear face masks in public venues. Those who violate the order could be punished with three-year imprisonment or a maximum fine of 200,000 birrs ($6,000).

Lia Tadesse, Ethiopia's health minister, and doctors from local hospitals had a video conference with some Chinese medical experts to discuss their experience in fighting the pandemic.

Tadesse spoke highly of China's efforts in fighting the pandemic saying that even with a large population, China soon controlled the epidemic, which is admirable, and Ethiopia looks forward to benefitting from China's experience in controlling the pandemic via cooperation.

Offering help

Since Nigeria announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case, almost every Chinese community and organization in the country has made local donations.

On March 27, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria handed over medical supplies including face masks, thermometers, gloves, liquid soap and sterilized water. The Association of Chinese Women in Nigeria also sent supplies to an orphanage in Lagos.

Chinese companies have also been helping. The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation sent a chartered plane to Nigeria with medical supplies worth over $1 million and helped build two makeshift hospitals.

Algeria is fighting one of the worst COVID-19 epidemics in Africa as more than 300 people have been killed by the virus.

The country is in great need of medical supplies and the Chinese government, Chinese people and companies in Algeria have all responded. Apart from donating materials, the China State Construction Engineering Cooperation is to build a small hospital to serve its 4,000 Chinese and 5,000 Algerian employees.

On March 27, China sent a team of medical experts to help Algeria fight the COVID-19 epidemic, which was warmly welcomed by Algerians.

China has sent 40 tons of medical supplies, including face masks and protective suits to Africa via a chartered flight. The supplies were distributed to 18 countries in Central and West Africa.

The tradition of friendship

Among African people, those friendly to China are still in the majority.

South Sudan's Juba Monitor newspaper published a full-page joint statement by the envoys of 13 East African countries, including South Sudan. The statement supported China and its prevention and control measures, holding that China's resolute measures to safeguard the well-being of the Chinese people and the people of the world have won the admiration of the rest of the world.

The Guardian, a mainstream media outlet in Tanzania, published the sentiments of Emmanuel Sumari on China's fight against the pandemic on the front page. Sumari is a Tanzanian student studying at Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University in Central China's Hunan Province.

As a medical student, Sumari admires China's medical staff in particular as they devoted themselves to treating patients and saving lives in highly risky conditions. The school also cares for and helps foreign students a lot, Sumari said.

Professor Nuetah at the University of Liberia published an article on April 13 saying he believes that reports of China conducting compulsory and discriminatory prevention measures on Africans in South China's Guangdong Province are not true.

He said that as Guangzhou is an important trading city and one of China's major manufacturing hubs, any responsible government would take strong measures to control the outbreak that has killed nearly 100,000 people worldwide. Therefore, the preventive actions taken by the Guangdong government cannot be classified as discriminatory.

Tens of thousands of African students are living and studying in China on scholarships from the Chinese government. Under the strict control and careful care of China, all the foreign students are safe except one African student in Wuhan who was infected with COVID-19 and cured soon, he said.

China has made every effort to meet the living and medical needs of foreigners, including African students, and to provide them with timely treatment.

China opposes all forms of discrimination, but requires all personnel in China, including Africans, to strictly abide by relevant Chinese laws and regulations. Africans in Guangdong should fully understand this and actively cooperate with it so as to protect the health and safety of themselves and others, he noted.

Hussein from Egypt has studied China for many years and has visited China many times. He learned that in cities where more foreigners live, such as Beijing and Shanghai, there have been many cases in which Chinese people have been forced to take action because some foreigners did not obey the epidemic prevention regulations.

Some are from Western countries such as the UK, Australia and Asian countries, not just Africans, so people should not read too much into it.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there have been no confirmed cases or disputes among thousands of Chinese citizens in Egypt and thousands of Egyptians in China.

That's because the two governments shared information in time and reminded citizens to cooperate and understand the need for epidemic prevention measures taken by the local government in accordance with the law, Hussein said.