MORONI -- Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China's support in areas including vaccines, medical equipment and personnel, has been decisive in the Comoros' fight against the COVID-19, said Nicolas Moussa M'Madi, director-general of the National Central Hospital El-Maarouf, Comoros, in a recent interview with Chinese media.

"I was able to see a strong support (from China) throughout the pandemic... As the hospital's director general, I can testify that the support was really decisive in dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic," said the chief of the national hospital.

M'Madi recalled that the cooperation between China and the Comoros in the field of health has a long history. "Since 1997, China has been sending medical teams to the Comoros, with medical workers from various specialities such as cardiology, gynaecology, surgery and anaesthesiology," he said, "these services are much appreciated by the population, and we have a lot of people coming for consultation."

The Chinese medical team also brought new equipment to the national hospital and helped train local doctors so that these medical services could continue working after its departure, he added.

M'Madi recalls that the vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 was launched in April 2021 in the Comoros by President Azali Assoumani thanks to a donation of 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, when the WHO COVAX programme vaccines were not yet available.

"With the strong friendly relations between the Comoros and China, we were able to opt for the Sinopharm vaccine. We chose to start the campaign with the Sinopharm and we were very satisfied", he said.

The latest official figures show that nearly 250,000 people have now been vaccinated with two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine in the Comoros, which means a complete vaccination rate of around 30 percent of its total population and one of the highest in Africa.

"Overall, the vaccine has produced few side effects", Mmadi said. And when a new wave of the epidemic hit the Comoros, his hospital had no cases of people who had been vaccinated but died from the new coronavirus infection. "So we are very satisfied with the overall effectiveness of the vaccination."

In addition to the vaccine, China has provided various forms of support to the Comoros, from medical supplies including testing reagents and ventilators to the dispatch of short-term medical teams.

"We have received help from a dedicated Chinese medical team during the fight against the epidemic," said Mmadi. "This team of a dozen Chinese medical workers, who came to the Comoros between April and June 2021, provided technical support in various areas of epidemic prevention and control."

"It was really a great learning experience for us and support for our teams to be able to take care of severe cases. We were also able to get some equipment: respirators, gasometry, extractors", he added.

During his recent visit to the Comoros, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China was ready to help the Comoros achieve its goal of universal immunization by the end of this year.

"At present, we are more prepared than at the beginning of the pandemic, with better equipment and better-trained medical staff. We need to be vigilant about the current wave, but we are confident that we will overcome it," Mmadi concluded.