Groundbreaking held for Africa CDC headquarters

The groundbreaking and unveiling ceremony for the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - a project aided by China - was held at the African Village in Ethiopia on Dec 14.

Liu Yuxi, head of the Chinese Mission to the African Union, and Amira Elfadil, the African Union commissioner for social affairs, delivered speeches at the ceremony to representatives and diplomats from the AU and various African countries.

While giving her remarks, Elfadil thanked the government of China for offering to construct the building and for their continuous support to the AU. She also said the AU's Department of Social Affairs worked with other AU departments and units to ensure speedy processing of all documents and approvals required to realize the project.

"The partnership between the AU and China is strategic, and the AU is extending hands to all partners who are looking for mutual cooperation with Africa. I also commend the efforts by President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and the Chair of the AU in the establishment of the COVID-19 African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team as a component in support of the Africa vaccine strategy," Elfadil said.

"I would like to assure you the construction for the other five regional collaborating centers of Africa CDC located in Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, to serve the Northern Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, Western Africa, and Southern Africa regions respectively. They will commence in the near future," she added.

For his part, Liu underlined the significance of the project and said China and Africa will always support each other and fight shoulder to shoulder.

"China got valuable support from the African Union and African countries when it faced the hardest period. When the pandemic outbreak reached Africa, China sent medical expert teams to 16 African countries, built pair-up hospital cooperation with 42 African countries, offered urgent medical supplies to the African Union and almost all African countries," Liu said.

Speaking via a video link from Beijing, Qian Keming, China's vice minister of commerce, said building the Africa CDC is a concrete action to follow through with commitments made at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Qian further underlined President Xi Jinping's reiteration that China will continue to support Africa in the fight against COVID-19, and start ahead of schedule the construction of the Africa CDC headquarters this year.

"The groundbreaking ceremony will take the project into a new stage. We hope this flagship project in China-Africa practical cooperation can benefit African people and become another shining example for the China-Africa friendship. China is committed to the principle of pursuing shared benefits through consultation and collaboration with the African Union towards the implementation of its Agenda 2063," Qian said.

Lia Tadesse, Ethiopia's minister of health, thanked the African Union and China for seeing the project off, adding the Africa CDC is an important institution that strengthens Africa's capacity to build resilient health systems for a healthier and stronger Africa.