A team of medical and epidemic prevention in China consists of 40 people left this afternoon en route to Haiti aboard a chartered flight, which also carries 20 tons of medical supplies, said Chinese Commerce Ministry.
The Ministry of Commerce of China announced today that the country will offer medical supplies worth 18 million yuan (2.64 billion dollars) in additional assistance to Haiti, which was severely affected by an earthquake on 12 January.
Among the 20 tons of medical supplies include medicine, medical equipment, medical devices and equipment for camping, the ministry said in a statement.
Aboard the plane was also carrying four police officers for peacekeeping Chinese, which will replace the four who died in the earthquake. China has deployed a force of peacekeepers from 125 members in the Caribbean country.
It is hoped that a charter flight to reach the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince at 15:00 local time on Monday.
The 40 medical staff members belong to the Chinese military medical system and 70 percent have participated in missions of peacekeeping previous UN, the ministry said.
Many participated in the massive rescue mission after the deadly Wenchuan earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 magnitude occurred on 12 May 2008, killing or disappearance of some 87,000 people, he said.
At the departure ceremony, Qian Lihua, director of the Foreign Affairs office of the Defense Ministry said that China accepts its responsibility as a member of the Security Council of the UN to help the Haitian people with concrete action.
Qian said he hoped the Chinese medical team accomplish the mission in a professional manner, helping to protect Haitians from epidemics after the earthquake and rebuild their homeland.
So far and with the additional aid worth 18 million yuan, China has provided humanitarian assistance to Haiti in materials and other supplies worth 48 million yuan, plus $ 3.6 million dollars in cash.
Besides sending medical care today, China has already provided several types of aid to Haiti, which was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.3 degrees on January 12.
On 13 January, the Red Cross Society of China announced a million dollars in emergency aid for Haiti.
On 15 January, the Chinese government announced its decision to provide emergency supplies to Haiti humanitarian worth 30 million yuan.
On 21 January, the Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Liu Zhenmin, said China would contribute an additional $ 2.6 million in cash to Haiti. End
Tags: chinese medical, chinese to haiti, medical equipment, supplies mediacal, supplies to haiti
