Samoa's fight against the measles virus has been bolstered by a $300,000 donation from the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S.).

The cheque was presented to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi in the presence of deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, Minister of Health,  Faimalotoa Kika Stowers-Ah Kau and other Government officials.

C.C.C.S. General Secretary, Reverend Vavatau Taufao, said he hopes the donation will aid the cause of "rescuing Samoa" during a time of crisis. 

"If there are still incoming donations from within the Church for this purpose, best believe we will also deliver that in the near future to add on to that," he said.

The amount was collected during a donation drive from all church members, said Rev. Vavatau.

Tuilaepa thanked the C.C.C.S. and said their assistance had come right on time for further initiatives planned by the Government, especially after the State of Emergency is to be lifted at year's end. 

He assured the Church Committee that their generosity will be passed onto the National Emergency Operation Centre, which is currently overseeing the national response to the crisis.

"The money you have given has come in at the appropriate time because even after the State of Emergency is lifted, our programmes will still be ongoing for the equipping of our district hospitals," he said.

"This way, when there is another curse like this all our facilities are well prepared, in terms of equipment, but also our nurses to be well trained to respond to other diseases that may arise."

He said the gesture of generosity stands alongside the many foreign doctors and nurses who are currently in Samoa, fighting alongside our locals against the epidemic.

"And I feel that there is a great lesson for them they have learnt from here to use, if their countries are swept with similar diseases, because contagious viruses are still around, like ebola and such," the Prime Minister said. 

The Prime Minster said it was important for Samoa to continue to prepare itself against mass outbreaks in the future.

"We are still observing the programmes still ongoing today and we feel confident that we have surpassed the worst state of this epidemic," he said.