![\"\"](\"http:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/chinaethiopiakitcentre.jpg\")
Chinas biotech giant BGI has opened a COVID-19 test kit factory in Bole Lemi industrial park on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the Chinese company\u2019s first-ever plant in Africa. Chen Songheng, General Manager of BGI Ethiopia, a subsidiary company of China\u2019s biotech giant BGI Genomics Co. is optimistic about Ethiopia\u2019s anti-COVID-19 fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe opened our first factory not only in Ethiopia, but also throughout Africa. Now the production capacity for the COVID-19<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to offer localized production in Ethiopia, from which all African countries can also benefit. Our goal is to provide all African countries with affordable artificial test kits to support them in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic\u201d, said Chen.<\/p>\n
Chen also applauded the Ethiopian government\u2019s high-level support to the new COVID-19 test kit factory showcased with the inauguration of the factory by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on September 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate the support of the Ethiopian government. With the Ethiopian government by our side, we feel a very strong confidence in the fight against COVID-19,\u201d said Chen.<\/p>\n
With the COVID-19 test kit facility already receiving glowing remarks from senior Ethiopian government officials, Chen is confident the initiative will diversify its engagements in the post-COVID-19 era.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the COVID-19 pandemic is gone, we will focus on making artificial test kits to provide products for HIV \/ AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria and dengue,\u201d Chen told Xinhua.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s Ethiopian employees state that they have gained knowledge and experience through their employment.<\/p>\n
Ethiopian employee Hussein Mohammed, a research and development engineer at the BGI plant in Ethiopia, said the east African country does not have enough medical expertise related to COVID-19 that the new plant will provide.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have a lot of expertise about COVID-19, so my long-term goal is to work with BGI Ethiopia and do better than I do now,\u201d Mohammed told Xinhua.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an Ethiopian, it is a great honor to work with BGI Ethiopia. Hopefully it will give me a wonderful experience in the future and I will share my experiences with local colleagues,\u201d said Mohammed.<\/p>\n
Muhammad\u2019s experience of China\u2019s successful fight against the COVID-19 pandemic extends to his time as a student in Wuhan City, where he witnessed China\u2019s successful anti-COVID-19 efforts first hand.<\/p>\n
Mohammed returned to Ethiopia in June after studying for two years in the city of Wuhan. His last six months in Wuhan coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak in the city and later with successfully fighting the disease.<\/p>\n
Experts will be working in BGI Ethiopia\u2019s COVID-19 test kit factory in the Bole Lemi industrial park on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on September 22, 2020. (Xinhua \/ Wang Shoubao)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chinese government played a huge role in protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. They provided us with free meals when we stayed indoors for more than six months,\u201d Mohammed said.
\nImporting large numbers of COVID-19 test kits from abroad has also presented Ethiopia with financial and logistical challenges. To date, 69,709 COVID-19 cases and 1,108 COVID-19 deaths have been confirmed.<\/p>\n
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali spoke at the inauguration of the COVID-19 test kit factory earlier this month that the inauguration of the factory had come at a critical time in the country\u2019s fight against the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarting production of COVID-19 test kits will increase testing capacity in Ethiopia and other African countries,\u201d Ahmed said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe factory will also provide commercial laboratory services for a total of three million transit passengers at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport,\u201d said the Ethiopian Prime Minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chinas biotech giant BGI has opened a COVID-19 test kit factory in Bole Lemi industrial park on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the Chinese company\u2019s first-ever plant … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54232,"featured_media":33750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[455],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54232"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33749"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33755,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33749\/revisions\/33755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abdas.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}