Thank China for its contribution and its example in responding to COVID-19

Beijing (People’s Daily) – Since the onset of the outbreak of COVID-19, the
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) has been
closely following the situation and stands firm in demonstrating solidarity and
enhancing cooperation with all partners in response to this “public health
emergency of international concern”. UNOSSC immediately reached out to the
United Nations resident coordinator system in the country, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China, and the United Nations
World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence in China for advice on
applicable procurement channels.
The urgently needed non-invasive respirators and medical protective suits
worth $100,000 were procured through UNDP China and reached the city of
Wuhan on February 22 and the city of Yuxi, a project partner, on February 24.
Jorge Chediek, envoy of the secretary-general on South-South Cooperation
and director of UNOSSC appreciated the efforts taken by China against
COVID-19 with a special message sent to People's Daily on March 20. The
following is the whole message:
Dear friends, my name is Jorge Chediek. I am the director of the United
Nations Office for South-South Cooperation and envoy of the secretary-
general for South-South Cooperation.

I would like to first commend China for how it has fought this pandemic, this
virus, this sickness, this coronavirus.
This slowing of the virus’ spread is particularly remarkable as it was achieved,
while China at the time continued to make progress toward its ambitious
poverty eradication goals.
I would also like to recognize China for what you are doing right now in terms
of cooperating with other countries in the spirit of South-South and global
collaboration.
Today – in Iran, in Iraq, in Italy, in the Philippines, in Serbia, and in Spain,
among many other countries – China is contributing with donations of
medical supplies, sending health workers to bridge unprecedented gaps in
capacity, and sharing lessons on how to flatten the growth curve of the virus as
China has done.

We commend private philanthropists also, like Jack Ma, the (co-)founder of
Alibaba, who donated test kits, masks and protective suits to all 54 countries
in Africa, a real example of South-South solidarity.
Our office, the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, is proud to have been
working closely with its partners in China since the onset of the outbreak to
mobilize needed resources.

The Office provided medical protective suits and non-invasive respirators, and
mobilized donations from partners, for Yuxi City in Yunan Province and
Xiaogan City in Hubei Province.
A long-standing partner of the Cities Project, the Maritime-Continental Silk
Road Cities Alliance Business Council (Quanzhou, China), mobilized a
donation of over 80,000 surgical masks from its members around the globe –
including from Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam – to assist
the Isfahan city of Iran and other cities of Iran, one of the most affected
countries at this stage of the outbreak.
In addition, our South-South Galaxy platform is also publishing calls for
donations of personal protective items jointly with our partner the Finance
Center for South-South Cooperation.
Moving forward, through the South-South Cooperation Facility for Poverty
Eradication, we will continue working with China and other development
partners from across the global South to facilitate connections and sharing of
home-grown solutions, including through digital innovation.
We stand ready to join hands with all developing countries and partners to
respond to the pandemic. We need to do it. This is a global threat. We need a
global response that is an expression of solidarity, and win-win collaboration.
We want to thank China for your contribution and your example.
We look forward to the world to working together to defeat this serious
enemy. Together we will do it.