China is fully committed to helping São Tomé and Príncipe hit its target of eradicating malaria by 2025, STP-Press reports.

The São Toméan state-run news agency says the Chinese commitment was expressed at a meeting last Friday of São Toméan Health Minister Edgar Neves and representatives of various partners of his country, including the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Mr Neves asked for more money to counter malaria, the report says.

His government is drawing up a new plan of action against malaria, to be financed for the next two years partly by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which will follow the four-year programme of action due to be completed this year, STP-Press quotes Mr Neves as saying.

In June last year the news agency reported on an agreement to keep up the Sino-São Toméan drive against malaria for another two years.