China is major anti-pandemic partner of Afghanistan, says Afghan health official

KABUL - Afghanistan's acting Public Health Minister Wahid Majroh has described China as a major partner in his country's fight against COVID-19, and thanked Beijing for its various support.

"China has been one of our most effective partners when especially it comes to health service delivery," Majroh told Xinhua in an interview. "The cooperation goes beyond COVID-19 -- during the pandemic, China supported us in different aspects."

"On the first days of the fight against COVID-19, China provided us ventilators, face masks and sanitizers, even during the days when they themselves were in need of these resources," Majroh said.

"We thank China for its support, which continued with the donation of ... vaccines," which is of great help for Afghanistan's vaccination campaign and is also a sign of friendship between the two countries, the minister said.

Talking about the COVID-19 origin tracing, the minister said, "We really appreciate openness and transparency ... China has elaborated."

"It is very difficult to make a judgment on the origin of the pandemic," and solid evidence about origins should be collected "in different geographies and different institutions," he said.

"Any judgment we make should be supported, and only will be valid if it is based on approved and agreed-upon scientific evidences, otherwise we cannot go with the rumors, social media or other sources," the minister added.