Director General Shen Hongbing of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention Visits Sierra Leone China Friendship Biosafety Laboratory

On the afternoon of 13 November 2025, during his visit to Sierra Leone, Shen Hongbing, Member of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Deputy Minister of the National Health Commission, and Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Director General of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention, led a delegation to the Sierra Leone China Friendship Biosafety Laboratory for an on site visit. Officials from the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine), the Hunan Provincial Health Commission and the Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention also took part in the visit.

Shen Hongbing listened to reports from the China CDC expert team working in Sierra Leone and from the support team in China on the laboratory’s operation and management, training of local staff and overall progress of the work. He extended sincere greetings to the Chinese and Sierra Leonean technical personnel working in the laboratory and highly commended their efforts and achievements in supporting infectious disease prevention and control and health emergency response in Sierra Leone.

Shen Hongbing stressed that safety must always come first. It is essential to ensure the personal safety of the Chinese expert team while they are working in Sierra Leone, and to strictly safeguard the biosafety of the laboratory. He noted that, as the national reference laboratory for viral haemorrhagic fevers and the national training centre for pathogen detection and biosafety, the Sierra Leone China Friendship Biosafety Laboratory should further make full use of its platform strengths and help Sierra Leone enhance its capacity for infectious disease surveillance and early warning. Guided by the vision of building a global community of health for all, it should continue to deepen public health cooperation with Sierra Leone and contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese strength to improving regional capacity for infectious disease prevention and control.

Shen Hongbing talking with the China CDC expert team at the Sierra Leone China Friendship Biosafety Laboratory[Photo/chinacdc.cn]

Group photo of all personnel[Photo/chinacdc.cn]