Chinese firms are poised to tap into the health sector in Africa after being already well established in mining, manufacturing, construction and finance.
The continent is home to more than 26 million Aids/HIV patients - two thirds of the world's total cases. The number of tuberculosis patients is rising by 2.4 million a year and more than US$10 billion is spent on treatment for malaria.
But most African countries remain poor. Their health spending is low and the sector underdeveloped. The scarcity of pharmaceutical labs leaves the continent heavily dependent on imported drugs, mostly from Europe and India, and much of it provided through international aid or by charities.
But even those sources are under threat, given the economic problems in many traditional donor countries. It is unlikely that aid will grow in accordance with the number of Africans who need access to affordable drugs, so new solutions must be found, not just in obtaining more aid but in the overall approach to aid, says Dr Mark Stirling, the UN country co-ordinator on Aids in Beijing.
'China's approach to aid is broader, not only in technology transfer, but to also encourage trade because African countries are increasingly concerned about their dependence on foreign aid,' said Stirling. 'Foreign aid itself can't deliver the help required and those countries seeking greater self sufficiency at least in basic health care.
'But strengthening the capacity of African countries to produce pharmaceuticals will require different types of investment - public and private partnerships, technology transfers, research and development, and building greater capacity. Many of these cannot be achieved through aid and assistance programmes. I think China's approach of co-operation based on the needs of developing countries is more appropriate to face such challenges.'
Sino-African co-operation in health has been mainly in technological and material support. China sent its first medical team to Africa in 1963 and over the years built 30 malaria treatment centres and provided 190 million yuan (HK$231.2 billion) worth of anti-malarial drugs.
