STORY: AU officials laud China's support to promote health in Africa
SHOOTING TIME: March 22, 2024
DATELINE: March 27, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:39
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
CATEGORY: HEALTH

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Africa CDC headquarters
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SHEILA SHAWA, Senior technical specialist of the African Union Commission (AUC)
3. various of the Africa CDC headquarters
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): FRANCIS CHISAKA KASOLO, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) liaison office at the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): FRANCIS CHISAKA KASOLO, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) liaison office at the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
6. various of the Africa CDC headquarters

STORYLINE:

Officials of the African Union Commission (AUC) have lauded Africa-China cooperation in the health sector, whereby China has proven to be a strategic partner in dealing with infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB) in Africa.
   
Sheila Shawa, a senior technical specialist of the AUC, said China has remained a real partner to Africa by building the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to advance public health in Africa.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SHEILA SHAWA, Senior technical specialist of the African Union Commission (AUC)
"We do appreciate the support of the Chinese in building the Africa CDC. One of the things we have been talking about is how can they also support infrastructure development in other member states because when they support their infrastructure, it improves the sanitation, it improves the hygiene and that will actually help in preventing TB."
   
Francis Chisaka Kasolo, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) liaison office at the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said the Africa CDC brings additional impetus to AU member states to respond to the TB pandemic and other communicable diseases.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): FRANCIS CHISAKA KASOLO, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) liaison office at the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
"Having a centralized Africa CDC here is really a bonus for the continent and it joins many, many other partners that are working on TB on the continent including my own organization, the World Health Organization."

Noting that Africa-China cooperation in the health sector is gaining momentum over time, Kasolo said the African Union is working to develop vaccines locally at the Chinese-built Africa CDC complex in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): FRANCIS CHISAKA KASOLO, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) liaison office at the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
"China has a history of working with Africa that extends many, many years, and now our hope is that they will continue investing in health on the African continent and of course supporting African institutions to promote health across the continent."

The officials made these remarks Friday on the sideline of an event marking World Tuberculosis Day, which falls on March 24 every year to raise people's awareness of the disease, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

According to a WHO report, an estimated 2.5 million people fell ill with TB in Africa, resulting in around 424,000 deaths in 2022.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Addis Ababa.
(XHTV)