Chinese medical team in Guinea honored with South-South Awards

A Chinese medical team which helped fight Ebola epidemic in Guinea was honored with the the South-South Awards Saturday night for its distinguished humanitarian efforts.

The 23rd Chinese medical team, with 19 members from Beijing Anzhen Hospital, had been dedicated to fighting together with African people the deadly epidemic since it broke out early 2014.

The UN General Assembly was given the award for spearheading development frameworks towards a better and safer world for people and planet while the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) was recognized for its 70 years of achievements in agricultural and food security.

The governments of Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Fiji also received the award for their achievements in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight anti-poverty targets that expire in 2015.

Now in its fifth year, the South-South Awards honors distinguished countries, individuals and organizations that embody transformative sustainable development worldwide, particularly in the areas of poverty reduction, education advancement and humanitarian impact. It is a celebration of multilateral partnership concerned with uplifting the world's most vulnerable population.

"I am honored by your decision to recognize the achievements of the United Nations," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message to the awards ceremony.

"Now, with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we enter a new era of efforts to eradicate poverty, foster human well-being and protect our planet," he said.

"Today, we all recognize the great potential of South-South Cooperation to improve the well-being of the vast majority of the world's people," the secretary-general said.

For his part, the president of the 70th session of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft said at the ceremony that "South-South Cooperation is vital to realizing global aspirations for sustainable development."

"It is important to recognize the great progress we have seen to date while at the same time to energize the global community to achieve much more," he said.

The 2015 Awards is co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, the FAO, the International Telecommunication Union, the South-South Steering Committee for Sustainable Development and the International Organization for South-South Cooperation.