China to train 4,000 Ebola-fighting personnel for Sierra Leone

Around 600 Sierra Leone medical care and quarantine workers have finished their 3-week training course offered by Chinese medical experts who are in the African country to help fight Ebola.

Liang Xiaofeng is the head of China's public health training program in Sierra Leone.

"This program covers the training of government staff, police officers, the armed forces, as well as community health workers. We plan to train a total of 10,000 people across Africa, with 4,000 of them from Sierra Leone. I hope our arrival has boosted the confidence of the African people, especially the people of Sierra Leone, in the battle against Ebola."

The presence of Chinese medical personnel in Sierra Leone is said to be creating a sense of optimism among local officials.

"The Ebola is in the communities. We are taking training from the Chinese and they told us the experience when they had SARS in China, 10 or 12 years ago. I mean the experience was sad but they even control it, so we are able to control the Ebola also if we are ready."

This year's outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has already left around 7,000 people dead.