China lends a hand to Africa’s coronavirus fight
- Chinese health experts are sharing their knowledge and millions of test kits and other equipment are on their way to the continent
- Ethiopia will be central distribution point as concerns grow about pressure on weak public health systems in some countries
A team of Chinese health and customs experts held a meeting on Wednesday with 300 officials and health care specialists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 24 African countries via videoconference to share China’s experience in combating the deadly pandemic.
China’s foreign ministry said the Chinese experts detailed the trend and features of the pandemic and shared their country’s experience and practices in epidemic control and clinical treatment. They also fielded questions from African doctors and leaders.
The Chinese Embassy in Nairobi said China had so far provided 2,000 diagnostic kits through the African Union and 10,000 kits and other medical equipment were on their way to Africa.
Embassy spokeswoman Huang Xueqing said the kits would first go to the Africa CDC or African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which would then distribute them to other African countries in need.