Government of Ghana has approved for an amount of $4,000 to be used for catering for 30,000 Ghanaians in China amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
The approved amount is expected to “cater for the emergency needs, such as sanitizers and food supplies especially for Ghanaians in Huan-China and its environs,” stated a deputy minister for foreign affairs, Habib Tijani on the floor of parliament recently.
He also mentioned that, the government is still discussing the possibility of evacuating Ghanaians in China as part of plans to protect citizens from the coronavirus.
Mr Tijani said, out of the 30,000 Ghanaians in China, an estimated 8,000 are students.
Minority leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has raised concerns on the amount released by Government to help citizens in China amidst the crisis. He noted that $4,200 is inadequate to support emergency efforts in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
“A $100,000 emergency fund must be able to support the Ghanaian authorities in China. To come and say $4,200 (is not enough),” he said.
The China Chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has expressed fear over the wellbeing of the Ghanaian students in China after the indefinite closure of most tertiary institutions in that country leaving students stranded.
Over 400 persons have reportedly died from the coronavirus in China since its outbreak in December 2019 with about 20,000 cases recorded.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the disease a global emergency after over 150 cases were confirmed in other countries with the Philippines recording one death.
Source: Jonas Danquah || ghananewsonline.com.gh