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Chinese enterprises step up efforts in Uganda's COVID-19 response

(Xinhua)    10:01, April 10, 2020

KAMPALA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 continues to spread in Uganda and the government is not certain as to what level the spread may reach. The east African country as of Wednesday had 53 positive cases but the ministry of health fears that there may be more cases in the communities since some of the confirmed cases had already interacted with the public.

The country's President Yoweri Museveni has urged the private sector and development partners to step in to boost the government's effort in the COVID-19 response, noting that it requires enormous resources. The government budget for the response is about 77.8 million U.S. dollar. The ministry of health has only 10 percent of what it requires.

It is this clarion call that both the state-owned and privately owned Chinese enterprises operating in the country are responding to, putting the communities' needs ahead of profit maximization.

In a televised address late on Wednesday, Museveni listed some of the Chinese enterprises that have responded to the government's call for assistance. Museveni earlier said one of the most critical need is to build a fleet of vehicles in rural Uganda that would be used to evacuate patients to the nearest treatment centers.

The Chinese embassy here, according to Museveni, contributed two ambulance vehicles. This donation came days after another Chinese enterprise in the remote eastern district of Mbale donated two four-wheel drive vehicles to the response.

Chinese factories in the central district of Mukono also donated two pickup trucks and 20 tons of cornmeal totaling 71,767 U.S. dollars.

Huawei, China's telecommunications corporation contributed video conferencing equipment to the ministry of health. According to the corporation, the facilities shall enable mobile video meetings and communications among staff in various sites such as health centers and ministry of health. Ugandan medical personnel will also be able to use the equipment to share their experiences with their counterparts back in China on how to contain COVID-19.

Ruth Aceng, Uganda's minister of health referred to the equipment as very critical in helping the country contain the pandemic.

Uganda late last month received a consignment of medical equipment donated by Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The consignment according to the ministry of health here included 100,000 masks, 20,089 test kits as well as face shields and other personal protective equipment.

The country has already started using the much needed equipment, according to the ministry.

Uganda now awaits a second round of medical donations announced by the Jack Ma Foundation to support Africa in the fight against the pandemic.

The Chinese embassy here in a tweet last month referred to the Jack Ma donations as a sign that Uganda and China together fight the war against COVID-19 to build a community of common health.

Chinese road construction companies have also teamed up with the state-owned Uganda National Roads Authority to donate medical supplies and other household items to vulnerable groups of Ugandans. Some of the items include hand sanitizers, mattresses, mosquito nets, blankets and boxes of bottled water.

Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a Chinese hydropower plant construction company also donated cooking oil, rice, mobile phones and cash to help the country in the response. Another company, Dodta Group of companies donated 10,000 face masks and 500 test kits towards the COVID-19 response.

According to the government, the food donations will be distributed to 2 million vulnerable people in urban centers who have been rendered jobless due to the government's lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19. Some of the beneficiaries include commuter taxi drivers in the capital, Kampala and central district of Wakiso, the elderly, sickly, and lactating mothers.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: He Zhuoyan, Bianji)

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