On June 14, with strong support from the Foreign Affairs Office of Hubei Provincial People’s Government and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Peru, the Silk Road NGO Cooperation Network organized its eleventh session of the online exchange meeting on pandemic prevention and control among Chinese and Peruvian NGOs, joining hands with Beijing Peaceland Foundation, China House, and some other organizations. The meeting attracted about 200 attendees, including representatives of the Covid-19 Command of the Central Government of Peru, the Congressional Health Committee, the Ministry of Education, the Aprista Party, Alliance for Progress, governments and hospitals of Lima and Amazonas, hospitals in Loreto, the Peruvian Palliative Care Association, the Association for Self-Development and Management, the Inter-American Organization for Volunteer Assistance and Development, and other Peruvian organizations, as well as representatives of overseas Chinese, students, and Chinese enterprises in Peru. On May 29, President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Martin Biscara exchanged letters, advocating further strengthening the practical cooperation between China and Peru in the fight against Covid-19 and other fields. On this meeting, deployment was made to practice the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries from an NGO perspective. In his speech, Merino, Peruvian congressperson and chairman of the Health Committee of Peru, noted that the severe Covid-19 pandemic has brought tremendous threat to Peru’s public health system, so we must gather the limited resources to rescue and cure the most seriously stricken groups. He further pointed out that China and Peru have established long-standing friendship and China’s assistances further consolidate Peru’s confidence in the fight against Covid-19. The joint efforts in fighting against the pandemic will surely further tighten the tie between China and Peru.

Merino makes speech

Masetti, former Peruvian Health Minister and commander-in-chief of the Covid-19 Command of the Central Government of Peru spoke highly of the meeting’s wonderful effect in her concluding remarks. As she noted, the Covid-19 pandemic reveals Peru’s weak public health system, while China has offered Peru valuable experience in fighting against the pandemic in time. The community-based joint pandemic prevention & control shared by the Chinese representative is the most effective one among all the countermeasures in her mind. She emphasized that she was deeply impressed by the solidarity of the two peoples who are tied together through this meeting despite of the long geographical distance. Finally, she hoped that China and Peru would further deepen the exchange in more fields with this meeting as a start.

Masetti makes speech

Liang Shun, chairman of SOCIEDED CENTRAL DE BENEFICENCIA CHINA, the largest overseas Chinese association in Peru, noted that all the overseas Chinese have consciously followed variety of government regulations, spontaneously organized pandemic prevention & control teams for mutual help, and donated necessary materials to medical institutions in both China and Peru, making their contributions to the fight against Covid-19. He looked forward to further cooperation between China and Peru.

Liang Shun makes speech

Under the coordination of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hubei Provincial People’s Government, Chen Xiaobei, professor of the Department of Infection of the People’s Hospital of Wuhan University and director of the Department of Infection of the Eastern District, shared the attendees with relevant knowledge about infection of Covid-19, including the etiological, epidemiological characteristics, diagnosis and preventive measures of Covid, and put forward targeted suggestions on pandemic prevention and control considering the current situation in Peru.

Chen Xiaobei shares relevant knowledge

Zhang Shujing, secretary of the Central Garden Community General Party Branch in Wuchang District, Wuhan City, shared experience and stories in the fight against Covid-19 revolving the theme of “Three-party Linkage to Build a Community Free of Pandemic”, emphatically introducing the role of primary communities as the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 and highlighting the CPC’s governing concept of “People First”. She shared with the attendees the touching stories of Wuhan’s model worker Wang Weigang and his son Wang Zijian who completed disinfection in various communities despite of risk of infection, and Deng Ping, head of a volunteer group and his son Wu Yufei who spared no efforts to purchase living materials for residents in the critical period.

Zhang Shujing shares touching stories

In response to the request of Peru, on May 23, China dispatched an anti-pandemic group comprising four experts to assist Peru in fighting against Covid-19 for over half a month. Peruvian Health Minister Víctor Zamora presented the expert group with honorary certificates and medals in recognition of their great contributions to Peru. At this meeting, members of the expert group were invited to share their work in Peru and put forward suggestions for Peru’s anti-pandemic work in the next step. These experts are Guo Yi, head of the Anti-pandemic Medical Expert Group and Deputy Director of the Medical Department of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University; Liu Laiyu, Chief Physician of the Respiratory and Critical Medicine Department of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University; Wu Yongming, Deputy Chief Physician of the Neurological Critical Disease Department of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University; Zhou Hao, Deputy Chief Physician of the Infection Management Department of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University.

Expert group shares their anti-pandemic work in Peru

In his concluding remarks, the person in charge of the Secretariat of China NGO Network for International Exchanges, initiator of SIRONET, noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind on many occasions. Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons for defeating the pandemic that endangers the whole planet. Today’s meeting is an important demonstration to earnestly put the consensus of leaders of China and Peru into action. Now, China is sharing its successful experience in pandemic prevention and control online with all the countries based on the Silk Road. As he noted, the Silk Road NGO Cooperation Network is open to NGOs in Peru and the whole Latin America as well. All the members are expected to further deepen cooperation in more sectors to build a community of shared future between China and Latin America through practical actions.

Facing severe threats of the Covid-19, Peru is now urgently seeking cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. This meeting has drawn great attention of people from all circles in Peru. The Public Health Department and governments of major districts of Peru all dispatched representatives to attend the meeting, while the primary representatives and mayors of some cities watched the video. Too many questions in Q&A session and elaborate answers extended the original 2-hour meeting to 3.5 hours, until 0:30am local time. Attendees from different fields expressed their thanks on the message board and said they had benefited a lot from this activity. Doctor Pela from Villa Victoria Surquillo Health Center in Peru noted that China’s successful experience has proved the importance and effectiveness of the primary community-based preliminary healthcare, and suggested that the government should attach importance to the pandemic prevention and control in primary communities. Netizen Dennis said that the Chinese experts introduced the methods and effects of virus detection in a vivid manner, and hoped Peru could further optimize its virus detection approach drawing lessons from China’s useful experience.