DHAKA, Nov 7, 2023 (BSS) - The Chinese government today provided necessary
medical equipment and dengue test kits to Bangladesh to supplement the
efforts of the government for combating dengue outbreak in the country.

Ambassador of China in Bangladesh handed over a portion of medical equipment
and MSR to Health Minister Zahid Maleque at the dengue consignment handing
over ceremony at the health ministry here, an official release said.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque, Health Services Division
Secretary Md Jahangir Alam, Directorate General of Health Services Director
General Prof Dr Abul Bashar Mohammed Khurshid Alam and high officials of the
Health Services Division were present in the ceremony from the Bangladesh
side.

Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Bangladesh Yao Wen and
relevant officials of the Embassy of China in Dhaka were present in the
ceremony from China's side.

On the occasion, the Chinese ambassador said, "Bangladesh has suffered the
severest dengue epidemic in history, which has infected millions of people
and caused the loss of more than 1,400 lives. The epidemic is still going on
and the situation remains challenging."

Chinese President Xi Jinping, when meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
in Johannesburg, South Africa late this August, announced in person that
China would provide Bangladesh 25 million RMB anti-dengue assistance, he
added.

Since then, relevant authorities of the two governments have kept in close
communication and cooperated in an efficient manner to ensure the early
arrival and timely deployment of the anti-dengue emergency supplies from
China, Yao Wen added.

He said, "The handover ceremony today is not only implementation of the
consensus reached between the two leaders, but also another manifestation
that China and Bangladesh are genuine friends who share weal and woe and
close neighbors who always help each other."

Bangladesh has been witnessing the deadliest outbreak of dengue fever. To
tackle the current tough situation, Bangladesh urgently requires an
additional number of modern medical equipment, MSR and logistics support.

In such a situation, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare requested the
Embassy of China in Dhaka to provide relevant medical equipment and MSR
support to combat the current dengue situation in Bangladesh.

Upon the request, the Chinese embassy agreed to provide the following medical
equipment and Dengue Test Kits: Apheresis Machine-15 Nos, Refrigerated
Centrifuge Machine (blood Bag Centrifuge)-15 Nos, Automated Hematology
Analyzer (Cell Counter)-15 Nos, Plateletpheresis Kit-2,000 pcs, Triple Blood
Bag-5,000 Pcs and NS1 antigen kit-10 lakh Pcs.

In the handover ceremony, the Chinese ambassador handed over a portion of the
above mentioned medical equipment and MSR to the minister as grant support.
The remaining portion of the equipment is underway from China to Bangladesh.