Chinese ambassador to Sierra Leone yesterday donated 125 boxes of malaria drugs to the ministry of health and sanitation in Freetown.

Ambassador Qiu Shaofang disclosed to journalists at the donation ceremony held at the medical store at New England Ville that the gesture was to strengthen the relationship between the Chinese government and the government of Sierra Leone and also to help people who get malaria.

According to the World Health Organization, the disease is one of the top causes of death in Sierra Leone. In 2002, more than 9,000 people died from malaria.

"We know that malaria is one of the sicknesses that affecting people of Sierra Leone so we decide to do this donation so that he ministry will distribute them," Ambassador Shaofang said.

Minister of health and sanitation Dr. Soccoh Kabbia said the drugs were going to be distributed properly to all the provinces.

"This shows that the China people care for our health in the country, with this donation I hope we will meet the MDG. My aim is to see that the health sector in the country improves," Dr. Kabbia said, adding that the Chinese government was very important in Sierra Leone.

Deputy minister of health and sanitation Tejan Koroma said in any improving country health should be a priority, as without health nothing can be done.

"We will work all over the country to see that diseases that are affecting people we provide way for it," Koroma said, adding that since they took up power there were faced with a lot of challenges in the ministry.

"Lack of qualified doctors is a big problem in the country, but we hope with the few we have we will work with them," he said.